Leaking rivets - The Hull Truth

jplaird · 09-03-2005, 10:38 AM

1999 satrcraft fish master 176 aluminum with multiple leakiing rivets. how can i repair this problem?

81 CC SEAOX 23' · 09-03-2005, 11:27 AM

Epoxy would be a very good choice!! Clean the area as best you can and put epoxy in and let it set and then Epoxy again over the top of the entire rivit to finish it off. I am sure others will chime in but there is one more alternative and that is a bit messy looking. Have a aluminum welder tack around the rivet. I guess that depends on how many are loose.

lemaymiami · 09-03-2005, 11:39 AM

I ran an old Starcraft from '76 to '83 and had the fun of putting it back together several times... If you've got leaking rivets you have two choices.

The first and best choice is to individually drill out each rivet and replace them. Remember we're not talking pop rivets, but solid rivets using the same techniques that aircraft types use.
The second choice is to coat the exterior over the top of the existing rivets with something like "Steelflex" which is an epoxy product that airboaters used to use. I'm not certain what the current standard is for coatings, it should be easy to find out, though. As far as the re-riveting process, I had a helicopter maintenance guy helping me the last time. I think your best bet in that area would be one of maintenance facilities near a small airport where lots of do-it-yourself small plane owners are. Good Luck. Riveted boats all will eventually leak as the rivets loosen. To add to the problem, they'll also crack at the edges of ribs where the sheet metal flexes but the rib doesn't...

rockn n rollin · 09-03-2005, 11:39 AM

or j b weld. i have known guys to remove the rivets and replace them with small screws using rubber washers and wide flat washers to make the seal. if you go this route, make sure the rubber washers are weather resistant. another alternative would be to use 5200 marine adhesive without the rubber washers allowing the sealant to mash out around the flat washer. this would have the same effect as mounting an outboard engine if you are working with a flat surface.

Brad1 · 09-03-2005, 11:53 AM

I believe Cabelas carries a product specifically for the purpose of sealing leaky rivets. You might want to try them. How bad are they leaking? If your only getting a small amount of water in the bilge (say a pint of so) after a full day of use, and you keep your boat on the trailer, then maybe just don't worry about it. I've owned three riveted Starcrafts (I currently have an '86) and they have all leaked a little bit. But it has always been such a small amount that it wasn't worth worrying about. Never enough to even come close to the bilge pump turning on. Personally, I don't think you can do away with the leaking 100% on a riveted hull that's seen use.

lichris · 09-03-2005, 11:58 AM

I had a similar problem... I painted the bottom with a heavy coat of Gluv-It. It's a 2 part epoxy designed to solve similar problems.

haifisch · 09-03-2005, 12:39 PM

There is this green stick that you melt with a torch, sticks good and stays on. Worked for me on a small riveted boat, used it to plug holes worn in a welded boat from dragging ashore too.

bigboylk · 09-03-2005, 05:39 PM

Get a rivit repair tool and tighten up your existing rivits. Use the tool with a hammer and have a buddy on the other side of the boat with a heavy hammer that is placed up against the rivit.
I got my tool at Ruston Marine tools. Their site is rustonmarinetools.com

auguste · 09-03-2005, 07:38 PM

Yup . . . fully clean the boat so that there is no crud under the the rivets or in the seam . . . tap the rivet from the inside of the boat . . . have a buddy hold a sledge hammer against the other side of the rivet . . . once the boat is tight, put it in the water and see if it still leaks . . . if you can not get it to stop leaking then try to caulk the joints . . . good luck with the repairs

lemaymiami · 09-03-2005, 10:10 PM

One other item I forgot to mention... Get a good pair of ear plugs if you're going to be hammering rivets-- you'll need them.

thataway · 09-04-2005, 12:38 AM

I do as above--use 4 lb sledge on the one side, ball peen hamer on the other, and peen the rivets back tight. I also have coated the entire bottom of the boat with epoxy. This latter is quite a job. You have to clean the bottom of any paint or debris, then wire brush the bottom and clean it with acetone--finally the epoxy.

bayrunner73 · 09-05-2005, 01:58 PM

try hitting them with a buddy should work for most of them. Using the right tool will keep the cone shape of the rivet if you need to ever have to retighten (which you will). If you can, you can always use SS screws with a washer on both sides of the hull with 3m sealant. This will work if you can get to both sides of the rivet. I had a flat boat that it worked for. I used the head of the srew on the outside and used a lock nut in the inside put a dab of sealant and it will hold better that any rivet I promise. If you start trying to weld it, expensive and difficult to do on the thin aluminum.

Good luck

frogboat · 09-05-2005, 04:53 PM

welding usually causes the alum to get brittle and may crack with use. don't use ss screws/bolts if boat is in salt water. electrolys will eat big holes quickly. guys around here who use a lot of alum duckboats have started coating the bottom with line-x or rhino truck bed material. they say it cost about $300 for a 16 ft boat and last a lifetime
frog