Project boat

Was given to me last year and I haven't had time to look at it until now. I was told it has some leaks...and it does LOL
Was previously used in one of the last commercial fisheries on Lake St Clair so to say it's been rode hard is an understatement LOL.
Today, I wire brushed around the rivets and then pressure washed all the loose paint and previous epoxy/jb weld repairs. Planning to flex seal and then paint but I need an overall plan first.
I may remove the front 2 seats and deck over the front 2/3 of the boat.
Planning to use it to run small creeks for trapping and maybe a bit of fishing.
First job will be to replace the transom and possibly add a drain and plug. This is the first tinner I've ever seen with no drain hole.
Any suggestions are welcome (as are smart -comments)

haven't tried this yet but been looking at it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IZFPQ...B1VI2&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

they recommend wire brushing around the rivet then heating the rivet for a few seconds with a lp torch just before application that it helps draw the epoxy in both sealing and making a tight mechanical connection.

Interesting

I have a old aluminum boat with a slow leak I had been looking at this sealer

but I had it flipped over in the yard and spray painted the rivets and it slowed down enough that I didn't bother

also a free boat

got another free boat this year I haven't had a chance to try yet

thinking about cashing some friends ponds if they don't mind


looking for a good boat I can put a motor on yet.

I had a 14ft one similar to that. About 1960 vintage Dura-Tech.

One thing I did to find all the leaks prior to repairs was I put the boat securely on about a dozen cinder blocks on level ground and filled it part way ( about 3" of water ) to see where it was dripping. 3M 5200 was the cure on the spots where it was needed.

Mine also did not come with a drain plug. I examined it , studied it , measured it , and re-examined it , again and again. Calculated where the hole needed to be. Determined how much the hole saw thickness would effect the hole placement as I wanted the drain plug as low as possible to be able to drain it to the fullest extent without having it a 1/4" too high and be left with a puddle all the time or go too low and cut into the bottom of the hull.

Carpenter's old saying " measure twice , cut once "

In order to get it correct , you only have one shot. Almost no room for error.

Quite frankly , I measured that at least 15 times. Finally took the hole saw to it. Nailed it , right on the button. Very tough job getting it just so.

If you can identify the leaking rivets, bucking those rivets seems more durable than adding a layer of rubber.

A transom plug is a must. To make that as easy as possible, I'd just drill a hole and install some sort of bulkhead plumbing fitting that would take a threaded plug.

I like an open design. I would be doing something with those seats. I suspect they add rigidity to the sides and some replacement framing is appropriate. Maybe I would cut the middle 18" out of the seats to give me a way to walk through without removing the whole seat. Still would require quite a bit of metal work to dress up the newly cut seats.

Looks like a good boat for choppy water.

P.m. member Osky if he doesn't respond to this thread.
He's done a few and knows the ins_outs of your project.

Where’s the boat in the pics? I don’t see it.

Never mind. I see it now. The camo is that good!

You need one of these

425 HP and only $45,000.00

keep us posted , i will be watching

I'd use at least 3/4" plywood for a transom to support that engine...

JP, isn't the camo amazing? I'd stills be willing to bet that many many waterfowl were shot out of that boat over the years. Simpler times LOL

Is it Tin? or aluminum? Tin would be a heavy boat for hauling around. Around me Aluminum V hulls like that are selling for $100 - $150 on local Facebook market place. I bought 2 for my rental cabins. The aluminum boats leaked from about 20 to 30 rivets each. I filled with water and marked the leaker rivets while under boat. Then had a buddy hold a iron dolly and hammered them tight. Painted the bottoms with truck bed liner coating for traction. Still have some seepage but in 2-3 hours on the water its not bad. A plastic flat feed scoop bails that, and provides a pee can so guys don't fall over board whizzing from the Busch lite. I enjoy boat projects. Working on a 10 foot Jon boat on and off now. I plan to use it for about 6 miles of river by my camp.

Should plane out pretty quick!!

I Haven't heard any real success stories about flex seal.

I wouldn't use flex seal. Just a small temp fix. I had an old jonboat with a few leaky rivets I was not impressed with flex seal...

No success stories? How bout the boat with a screen door bottom ?

x2 on no Flex Seal . My experience is it is only a short time fix.

The true downside is winter temps. That stuff does not with stand freezing or sub freezing temps wether in use or leaning against the shed.

Get the boat off the ground, fill with water to a point, go under and Mark the bad rivets with a sharpie. Flip the boat drill out the bad rivets, no buggy. Reinstall solid rivets, you may want to dab epoxy around the rivet before setting. I use a back steel and an air chisel/gun. Cheap ones work fine.
I’m the type that Likes it done right. There may be lesser fixes.
I finished a deep v 16’ Lund a month ago that now resides in Utah, chasing lake trout.


Osky

that i almost exactly the boat I am looking for , very hard to find 16 foot here so many 14
my son and I are both fairly large just us in a boat is going to be 600 pounds add any gear and it will go up from there.
I am thinking 16 is better than 14 for the added weight

I am looking at an 18' lund 1978 hull right now

Thank you all for your help and advice. I'm going to think about it for a bit before I move forward. I will probably drill out and replace the bad rivets as suggested by Osky.
Will probably hammer out any dents as well.

Be careful iffn you use any heat, on it some of them older boats have a strip of rubber between the layers of aluminum and any heat can burn it out then you will have a lot of leaks !
Dennis

Yeah , ok....sure thats all they used.

Just use new rivets after you drilled out the leaky ones. As mentioned above, a cheap air chisel makes that also the easiest way to fix it and not just the best.