Kansas Angler Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 i found out that my boat had a few leaky rivets, how should I seal them? thanks teenage angler Quote
Low_Budget_Hooker Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 1. Drill old rivet out. 2. insert a tapered head bolt into hole from the bottom. 3. Coat threads with 3m 5200 marine adhesive/sealant, don't be skimpy but no need to glob it on there. 4. Add washer and nut and tighten. 5. wipe away excess 5200 and trim down the bolt. Go Fishing. 2 hints 1. Be careful not to get the 5200 anywhere you don't want it, i.e. carpets, clothing etc (rubber gloves aren't a bad idea either, it's tacky stuff 2. Put boat on saw horses first and fill with a few inches of water. Look underneath to see which rivets are leaking. Circle with with yellow crayon or some sort of distinguishing mark Good luck Quote
kms399 Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 about 4 years ago my boat had 3 leaky rivits. i used PC-7 on them they haven't leaked yet. my boat stays bone dry after a full day of fishing. the best part is there is no labor involved just mix it, apply it and give it a couple hours and your good to go. Quote
Kansas Angler Posted February 10, 2008 Author Posted February 10, 2008 thanks for the help guys ill try it out Quote
Super User .dsaavedra. Posted February 10, 2008 Super User Posted February 10, 2008 about 4 years ago my boat had 3 leaky rivits. i used PC-7 on them they haven't leaked yet. my boat stays bone dry after a full day of fishing. the best part is there is no labor involved just mix it, apply it and give it a couple hours and your good to go. dont want to steal the thread but what is PC-7 and who makes it and where can i get it (my boat leaks down the seam.) Quote
maxke01 Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 wonderful tool is google http://www.pcepoxy.com/products.asp Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted February 10, 2008 Super User Posted February 10, 2008 A friend of mine kept a Lowe Jon going for 25 years with a couple of tubes of JB Weld. ;D Quote
BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted February 10, 2008 BassResource.com Administrator Posted February 10, 2008 I wouldn't recommend JB weld or any epoxy. Aluminum flexes, those don't (as much as aluminum). The result? Overr time, the aluminum will crack around the JB weld or epoxy. Use a sealant like LBH recommends, or us my favorite - Sikaflex 292. These will flex with the aluminum yet maintain the seal. Quote
JKay Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 Another great product is Gluvit. It's a high build epoxy specifically used for boats. I used this on the bottom of my jon boat where I had leaks at a seam and on a couple rivets. Boat is bone dry now. Stuff is tough as nails. I also painted on a couple thick coats near the stern since the boat gets dragged in and out of shallow water. If you go this way, Gluvit needs to be top coated with paint because it lacks UV protection. I coated with grey primer and aluminum colored spray paint. Matches the boat pretty good. Quote
Super User .dsaavedra. Posted February 10, 2008 Super User Posted February 10, 2008 I wouldn't recommend JB weld or any epoxy. Aluminum flexes, those don't (as much as aluminum). The result? Overr time, the aluminum will crack around the JB weld or epoxy.Use a sealant like LBH recommends, or us my favorite - Sikaflex 292. These will flex with the aluminum yet maintain the seal. yeah this is good advice right here. i tried JB weld and it kept the boat dry for like 10 minutes then the hull flexed enough for the brittle JB welt to just crack and pop right off. i got a tube of some kind of silicone that im gonna try. my boat is very old and has seen many owners, and there is just so much hardened crap caked on the bottom (many different sealants) and i think that might be the reason why none of my sealants have worked. how can i get this stuff off? Quote
Kansas Angler Posted February 11, 2008 Author Posted February 11, 2008 I wouldn't recommend JB weld or any epoxy. Aluminum flexes, those don't (as much as aluminum). The result? Overr time, the aluminum will crack around the JB weld or epoxy.Use a sealant like LBH recommends, or us my favorite - Sikaflex 292. These will flex with the aluminum yet maintain the seal. my boat is very old and has seen many owners, and there is just so much hardened crap caked on the bottom (many different sealants) and i think that might be the reason why none of my sealants have worked. how can i get this stuff off? i have the same problem i have this almost silly putty type stuff on most of the rivets on the bottum and its a pain to try and pick off and it doesnt work to well, Quote
surfer Posted February 11, 2008 Posted February 11, 2008 2 Hammers Technique - AKA tightening the rivets Take a sledgehammer or other heavy hard object and hold it against one side of the leaky rivet. Take a regular hammer and hit the other side of the rivet a couple of times. This flattens and expands the rivet to fill the rivet hole. Don't try and turn it into a pancake, just flatten it a little. Much quicker and easier than glue/epoxy stuff and almost as permanent as when the boat was new. If there is already a glue / epoxy in the way, the hammers don't care. Epoxy will shatter and glue will smush. Quote
=Matt 5.0= Posted February 12, 2008 Posted February 12, 2008 You could always have Matt 5.0 weld it.... Quote
bassboy1 Posted February 13, 2008 Posted February 13, 2008 Another vote for Gluvit. Good stuff. Quote
Pond fisher Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 I tried most of the fixes described above. All were temporary. I used a fiberglass repair kit to cover rivets. Let dry and sanded smooth and never had another leak. Ken Quote
surfer Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 I tried most of the fixes described above. All were temporary. I used a fiberglass repair kit to cover rivets. Let dry and sanded smooth and never had another leak.Ken Have you tried tightening the rivets? I have yet to see a better technique. I work with fiberglass for surfboard repair and more recently fiberglass hull repair. I do agree that it is permanent or close to it, but the work put in to it is close to double that of tightening the rivets which I feel is just as permanent. And I hate trying to wash fiberglass resin off my hands. But I guess it could also depend on what supplies you have readily available in your garage. Quote
Danceswithbass Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 Surfers right , I've flattened the loose rivets before, its called bucking the rivet. I used a rivet driver that you use in an air tool and just used a hammer with it right on the rivet. We backed the rivet with a 3lb sledge. It stopped the leak, I ended up going all over the boat doing it. Quote
Low_Budget_Hooker Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 I tried most of the fixes described above. All were temporary. I used a fiberglass repair kit to cover rivets. Let dry and sanded smooth and never had another leak.Ken You're the first. This is a common yet highly unsuccessful method. Eliminate the problem,...don't compensate for it. Re-hammer the rivet or replace it with a bolt. Quote
Kansas Angler Posted February 19, 2008 Author Posted February 19, 2008 well thanks alot guys, it sounds like im going to hammer all of the rivets and flatten them out, i will probbaly do it on all the rivets so i dont have to do it again and to be safe. Quote
bowtech_182 Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 As someone who shoots rivets for a living I would suggest only reworking the leaky rivets on your boat. 2 hammers will do the trick without buying special tools. Once you go and start smacking every rivet on the boat you are likely to cause more leaks and not to mention dents in the boat of you are not careful. Quote
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