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Aluminum Jon Boat repair


Geno

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Hi, late this past season I put a slit in the underside of my 20 plus year old 14 foot aluminum jon boat right between 2 of the ribs. It was anough of a slit that it took on water so I had to dry dock it and finished out the season with a canoe owned by my son. I have been told that welding an aluminum anything is tricky and a couple shops I called won't even attempt it. Any suggestions on alternative repairs I can do myself? Thanks much.

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  • 1 month later...

I weld at work with a MiG all day, but I would suggest you get it welded with someone who can TiG (Tungsten inert gas). If you've ever seen the show "American Chopper" you have seen a TiG welder in action. TiG is excellent for Aluminum, and yes.....it is very tricky. But if it's done properly, you won't even be able to tell it was repaired.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've had aluminum welding done on two outboard motors and both times I just went through the phone book until a welder advertised that he did aluminum. Both were guys who had nice shops at their houses and both did excellent work. One welded a crack for $20 and the other attached a new skeg for $20. Should be easy to find someone who can do it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Depending on how big the crack is you may be able to fix it with some silicone type stuff. I wish I could think of the name of it but I can't. Its black and comes in a tube just like silicone. Its often used to seal flashings by roofers. If I can think of the name of it, I'll let you know, but I repaired a 4" crack in my 10' john boat about 10 years ago with 1/10th of a tube of this stuff and it hasn't leaked a drop since.

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