replacing aluminum

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chrmayo

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I have an old duracraft 15ft. The front is made like a mod v its all riveted. The front has taken a beating from the previous owner duckhunting in ice. Everything else is good minus a few dents here and there. Is there any way that I can cut out the front section of the boat and replace it with new aluminum. The front piece is welded in and I have someone that can weld a new piece in. Is this the best solution? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.


Chris
 
Send some pictures of the bow,maybe you can pound them out and weld any cracks that may develope from the pounding.
 
Zum said:
Send some pictures of the bow,maybe you can pound them out and weld any cracks that may develope from the pounding.

That's a good idea. Someone (sorry, can't recall who it was) recently posted about drilling the ends of cracks (1/8" hole at each end of the crack) to keep them from splitting before you weld them. That's the way to do it ! 8)
 
I started trying to pound them out. a weld at the bottom of each side started to crack. The small front deck is right in the way also. I thought about drilling the rivets out of it and pounding it and bolting it back in like others have talked about replacing rivets. I have a pic on my phone how do I get it on here?
 
chrmayo said:
I started trying to pound them out. a weld at the bottom of each side started to crack. The small front deck is right in the way also. I thought about drilling the rivets out of it and pounding it and bolting it back in like others have talked about replacing rivets. I have a pic on my phone how do I get it on here?

The easiest way is to email the picture to yourself from your phone then from the computer attach it this thread.
 
If the resizing thing doesn't work out, you could upload your pics to a image hosting site like PhotoBucket or Flicker.

~LCA.
 
https://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/chrmayo/boatfront.jpg

See if that worked.
 
Thanks for posting the pics :) . Those dents can probably be worked-out with a hand dolly and a hammer. Don't know if the pounding will create more cracks in the process, so you may still need some welding done.
 
Would it be best to use a rubber mallet? Should I take the small front bench out for easier access?
 
Sure, a rubber mallet can work, but you still need something behind it, or you'll just be pushing the dents the other way. Removing the front deck is an option, but you'll need to ensure you don't reform the front of the boat so much during the dent fixing whereas the front deck will not fit when you re-install it. If you remove the deck I'd also recommend using some 3M Marine sealant around the bolts when reinstalling the deck.
 
After tuesday I am off work until the 3rd week of july so I am planning on tearing into it. While I am at it I am gonna paint it and either add some flat floors or deck it. I dont think I will be going all the way up to the top if I deck it. Any other info would be great. Thanks
 

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