Conference wahoo::fishing

    I have used some stuff called (I think) shoe glue stick on the bottom
    of my coleman scanoe and it has worked fine.  I got it at K-Mart
    a year ago ($1.69?)
    
    All it is is a stick the size of your finger and you heat it up
    with a lighter and spread it on.  It hardens back up in minutes.
    
    It is cheap and has worked fine for me.
    
    Erik 

    See notes 254.17 and 281.14 through .19. If none of this looks promising,
    I'd try fiberglass cloth/resin on the inside.
    
    	RAYJ

    I can't remember what the stuff is called, but it was made
    specifically for fixing aluminum boats with leaky rivited
    joints. I used some on my fathers boat a while back. It
    was a fairly thin clear liquid that you brushed on the area
    of the leak. capillary action pulled it in under the rivits
    and seams, and it hardens to a rubbery texture, kind of
    like the stuff some tool handles are dipped in. It worked
    pretty good. I'll see if I can't find out the name of the stuff.
    
    Wayne

    I saw some stuff in the big BASS Pro catalog that looks similar
    to whats described in :-1. It was green, and if my memory serves
    me, was heated by torch and melted into the rivit/joint. Looked
    like it might do the job. Bet its also flexible and waterproof.
    Ill look again tonight and report...
    

    The fix mentioned in .3 and .4 sounds like it might be just what
    I need! Do you think it could be done from inside the boat? The
    person who had the boat before me fiberglassed the keel from the 
    outside, but it lifted in few spots. I've never done any work with
    fiberglass before, and I've been warned by a friend that it's a
    little hard to work with...
               
    -Steve

    Use tar. It stop de leak, keep de boat quiet, an nobuddy steal chore
    takel box.
    
    Coonass ban tarin boats fo years,
    
    Coonass

    I have an old aluminum boat that had a leak. The best stuff I've used
    to fix it is a water line paint that is used on fiberglass boats.
    I painted the bottom completely and once every year just paint the
    seams, it hasn't leaked since. By painting the bottom completely
    you hit every bossible leak. Also it comes in good looking colors
    so it dressed up the looks of the boat.
    
    Jim

    just about anything would work, rubber silicon, water base paint
    gas tank leak stopper, or last and cheapest a piece of bubble gum.
    i wouldnt use the bubble gum unless i was stuck out in the water
    and it was the last resort,,, Ps if you really want it to stay
    secure make sure you chew out all the flaver.
    
    		good luck,, stay dry

    Try Gluvit. It's expensive $35/gal but I coated the bottom of my
    Grumman 2 years ago when electrolisis from copper based anti fouling
    paint ate most of the rivets and I have yet to see a drop get in.

    Well how about that. I found it. Didnt think to write the page number
    - but BASS Pro item number 556-288. ""Enough for 25 repairs. Heated
    with propane torch. "Heat Bonded Polymeric Epoxy"" $9.97. Looked
    like large dark green crayons and picture showed it being melted
    into a rivit hole. Looked like application could be from either
    side.

    I really like the idea of the "Heat Bonded Polymeric Epoxy", but
    I'm having a hard time finding a local marine supply dealer that
    carries it.  Any suggestions would be appreciated...

    	Try your local sporting goods/ski store and ask for P-Tex. 
    Same stuff they use to repair the bases of skis.  It is is candle
    form when you buy it with its own wick.  Light the wick and let
    it drip into the area to be sealed.  Flexible, heat setting
    plasticizing agent.  Works great.

    I went to R.J. Bradley's Ski and Tennis in Westford, MA and purchased
    a couple sticks of the P-Tex that was mentioned in .12.  It was $0.50
    per stick which should make a lot of poor fishermen very happy!
    I plan on trying it this weekend, and I'll report on how good or
    bad it worked.  If it doesn't do the trick then I'll probably order
    Hatfield's epoxy stick from BASS pro.  By the way, GLUVIT is selling
    for $15.00/quart (not too cheap) at Roy's Marina in Worchester...

    Wow!! Can't believe all this good modern stuff. I remember way back
    when my dad had a 14' Lonestar with a bunch of leaky rivets. The
    only solution was drill them out, flood hot tar under the seam and
    re-rivet.

    Yahoo!!  We took the boat out last night and it didn't leak a drop!
    The P-TEX worked just great.   And let's see...how much did it cost
    me?  At $0.50 per stick, and I used half a stick...Wow, can't beat
    the price either! A few words of guidance though; use a propane torch
    or something similar to heat up the area you want the P-TEX to fill.
    Otherwise, there will be no capillary effect and the P-TEX will
    merely lay on the surface.  Also, make sure the area is clean and
    roughed up (like with sandpaper) before you attempt the application.
    A stick of this stuff in your tackle box could easily provide
    an emergency fix for fiberglass or aluminum as it could be applied
    (temporarily at least) with a match.
    
    Thanks to everyone for your good advise,
    and Happy Fishing, guys!!
    
    -Steve DeMarco
    
    

    
    Thanks to all who replied to this note. I spent last weekend
    sealing up my old aluminum boat. Just thought I would share 
    what I learned.
    
    I sealed my boat last year with silicon and it held, for the 
    most part, thru the summer. When I put the boat in this year
    most of the leaks were back. I had leaky rivets and leaky seams.
    
    I found that fiberglass is the hardest to work with but 
    seals the best. I also tried P-TEX which was great
    for rivets and small cracks but not very effective on seams 
    or joints. You must have a propane torch to apply the P-TEX.
    
    I also added carpeted plywood decks and floors to this boat,
    and its not a bad rig now.
    
    Thanks again and stay dry,
    
    Phil

    I'll admit I haven't read all the leak-fixing notes, but did anyone
    suggest trying all-purpose epoxy? I would think that stuff would work
    real well. Another possibility might be fiberglass impregnated auto
    body filler (small fiber) - it's much easier to use than real 'glass
    and still waterproof. Either of these are great all around "stuff" -
    I've used them for lots of different repairs.
    
    Of course it's easy for *me* to make experimental suggestions for 
    *your* boat!
    
    Ed
    
    Ed

    	The PROBLEM with all-purpose epoxy in fixing leaks in aluminum
    boats tends to be flexure.  In heavy water, you will just fracture the
    epoxy right out of the joint.  THEN, when you need the DRY BOAT the
    worst, it becomes RATHER WET!!!!  Bondo works pretty well, but, trying
    to get it worked into the seams on crack leaks is tough.  If you can't
    get it worked THROUGH the joint to seal BOTH SIDES of the leak, it
    tends to be temporary at best.  Liquid aluminum also works FAIRLY well,
    but, you end up having to do a LOT of work to the repair AFTER the
    material hardens.  Again, working it THROUGH the seam leak area is the
    problem.  A piece of pre-resined glass cloth for auto-body repair
    slapped over a leak tends to do a good job, BUT, looks like .......
    	One other thing that tends to lessen the amount of leaks in the
    boat over time is to store it UPSIDE DOWN for the winter.  This keeps
    water from setting in the bottom of the boat, working into the joints
    and seams, and freezing and expanding, thereby CAUSING LEAKS.  If you
    are able ot flip your boat over on the trailer for the winter (ALUMINUM
    TYPES ONLY) then do it.  (This trick was told to me by Spinnerbait. 
    It is very logical and checked out with a marine repair place here in
    CXO as the CORRECT method for storing.)
    

    I wonder if a good grade of auto enamel paint with at Urethane
    catalyst, mixed a little on the heavy side might do for sealing very
    small leaks. When it dries it literally becomes plasticised - very
    tough, very flexible, very neat. It would probably be best at sealing
    leaks in the keel, because you could just slop the paint around the
    keel area from the inside of the boat and let it (hopefully) seep into
    the leaks. With the catalyst it would harden even w/o exposure to air.
    
    Oops... it just occurred to me that to paint aluminum properly - with
    that kind of paint - you must use zinc oxide primer first or it won't
    take properly (tend to flake), but as a sealer it might still work.
    
    I suppose some good heavy epoxy or rubber based paint might work also,
    but again, I'm just speculating...
    
    Ed

    Dis all remind me ob an ole cajun buddy ob mine dat wunce tried to
    swell an 'luminum boat.
    
    Tied it to a cypress for all winter an it still leaked! Hated to tell
    him it wudnt swell, so we jes took it an swabbed de inside wit tar an
    stopped de leak. Nobody tole him an I guess he still tink he made it
    swell lak a cypress boat.
    
    Coonass

    	This has been mentioned before but there is both epoxy and
    polyester resin. The most common is polyester I believe. The epoxy
    is what you use over foam as polyester reacts by melting the foam.
    
    	Either polyester or epoxy resin on aluminum is probably fine. Both are 
    made to be used with the fiberglass cloth. Without the cloth, either of 
    the two will crack and peel off.
    
    	I'm not sure how well the resin will bond to the aluminum but the
    bondo I know adheres well. The all around best patch seems to be to
    apply a skim coat of bondo (plastic filler) and then go over that with
    the cloth/resin. 
    
    	This seems to be the best combination for fiberglass boats too as
    the cloth/resin doesn't bond to the gel coat and/or old fiberglass as 
    well as the plastic filler does.
    
    	RAYJ