Aluminum Jon Boat repair

[Geno]

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.

[sdkidaho]

Aluminum Repair.

 

 

Says anyone can do it, but I couldn't vouche for that.

[Geno]

Thanks for the info-I'll check it out this spring.

[Likwid]

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.

[Butch-M]

You might try specialty autobody shops too. Some cars use aluminum parts.

[IdahoDucker]

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.

[Lightning]

the repair should definetly be done with TIG weld. Not as hard to do as you think, but any welding shop or metal fabricator should be able to do it. If nothing else try a fiberglass patch.

[sprigsss]

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.