Alumacraft in sad shape

Hello folks,

I recently acquired some property and it came with a boat. It appears to be an Alumacraft Model E, but I am not qualified to guess the year. Just to be clear, I am not qualified to know anything about boats, aluminum or otherwise.

I was hoping to test it's seaworthiness (well, watertightness at least), but a few aftermarket modifications and equipment failures give me pause.

First, it looks like a bow eye was added, and it rather loosely penetrates the hull. Should this concern me if it's above the waterline?

Second, and definitely concerning, is that someone appears to have fashioned a plug hole out of JB Weld. There are also multiple other transom repairs that seem to have patched prior attempts. The actual plug that came with the boat is cheap and doesn't form a seal, which is what prevented me from even attempting to put her in the water. I assume this boat did not come with a plug hole? What is the right way to add such a thing? Is it crazy to tig weld a little bulkhead fitting for this? If adding a pre-made through hole fitting, I have no idea where to begin with sealants and fasteners. How would you all fix this?

Third, it looks like there used to be oarlocks, one of which partially remains, the other is completely gone. Those would be nice to have. Is that the sort of thing I can find replacement parts for?

Any help would be appreciated!

Welcome to TinBoats!

Bow Eye: If it were below the water line you would have a big leak. To me it looks like someone added a galvanized eye-bolt. You can get replacements bow eyes in all shapes and sizes for probably under $15. From what I think I see, it looks like the area where the bow eye bolt goes through is pretty bunged up. You might have to do a simple patch of some sort. Additionally, put a wedge shaped backer inside for support when you tighten up the nut on the bow eye bolt. And yeah, the bad news is it should be repaired even above the water line.

Drain (Plug Hole): All boats of this style will have some sort of drain. One in the lower transom like yours is very common. It looks like someone did put a bead of JB Weld, so I assume there must have been a leak. Treaded thru hull fittings are readily available and might be an easy and inexpensive way if you need to replace that one. You might also find someone here with the same boat that can share what the original drain looks like. I assume that drain is 1" in diameter. 1" expanding drain plugs are readily available and inexpensive (get extras). I put a couple of pic's of some common types below.

Oar Locks: Enter "oar locks" in google and you will get several hits.

The wood transom pad on the outside is shot and needs to be replaced. Same for the transom wood on the inside of the transom. This is a very common need for older boats and newer ones that have not been maintained. Try to keep the old boards as intact as you can to use as a template. Glue together a couple pieces of exterior ply to get the thickness you need. Seal the heck out of the new wood transom and transom pad before reinstalling. You will find a ton of threads here about replacing and sealing transom wood.

I am scratching my head over that small plate bolted on the outside lower transom next to the drain. Is that some kind of patch? I would remove it to see what is going on.

Support your boat on some saw horses (right side up) and put some water in it to see if it leaks. Don't fill it! Water is heavy and if you put too much you can damage the boat. Just put in a few inches and look for leaks. Lift/lower/roll the hull as needed to move the water around.

A couple of notes to someone new to all this. There are a ton of different marine sealants that work great on aluminum. If you find you need to adhere or seal something, do not use standard bathroom/kitchen silicone. It is known to cause the aluminum to corrode. For the same reason, do not use pressure treated wood anywhere in your aluminum boat.

If you have questions about specific products or methods, shout them out. Folks here are happy to help.

You mentioned TIG welding. Do you have that capability?

I hope this helps get you started.

Here are a couple common transom plugs:

As for the year, you'll find the serial stamped into the spine of the transom brace.
Alumacraft (BRP) is famous for releasing their info and will usually respond to date inquiries within days.
...or if you do not need a letterhead response for the registration process, post the serial here and I can date it for you as I also have a copy of their factory records.

Spicy said:

Hello folks,

I recently acquired some property and it came with a boat. It appears to be an Alumacraft Model E, but I am not qualified to guess the year. Just to be clear, I am not qualified to know anything about boats, aluminum or otherwise.

I was hoping to test it's seaworthiness (well, watertightness at least), but a few aftermarket modifications and equipment failures give me pause.

First, it looks like a bow eye was added, and it rather loosely penetrates the hull. Should this concern me if it's above the waterline?

Second, and definitely concerning, is that someone appears to have fashioned a plug hole out of JB Weld. There are also multiple other transom repairs that seem to have patched prior attempts. The actual plug that came with the boat is cheap and doesn't form a seal, which is what prevented me from even attempting to put her in the water. I assume this boat did not come with a plug hole? What is the right way to add such a thing? Is it crazy to tig weld a little bulkhead fitting for this? If adding a pre-made through hole fitting, I have no idea where to begin with sealants and fasteners. How would you all fix this?

Third, it looks like there used to be oarlocks, one of which partially remains, the other is completely gone. Those would be nice to have. Is that the sort of thing I can find replacement parts for?

Any help would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

Just completed restoring a model E identical to this one. !950 mfg date on mine. You have a fun restoration project now........I enjoyed bringing this one back to life! Last picture is what it looks like now fully rigged out!

I had one like that awhile back. Alumacraft never responded to questions about the production no on the hull. I did the same thing with putting a cheap eyebolt in the bow. Worked fine. If you think it'll leak put some sealer or a rubber washer on it. This model to my knowledge never came with a plug. I was going to put one in, but ended up selling it.

LaqueRatt said:

I had one like that awhile back. Alumacraft never responded to questions about the production no on the hull. I did the same thing with putting a cheap eyebolt in the bow. Worked fine. If you think it'll leak put some sealer or a rubber washer on it. This model to my knowledge never came with a plug. I was going to put one in, but ended up selling it.

Click to expand...

That would explain the homemade looking drain.

Wayne Roberts said:

Just completed restoring a model E identical to this one. !950 mfg date on mine. You have a fun restoration project now........I enjoyed bringing this one back to life! Last picture is what it looks like now fully rigged out!

Click to expand...

Wayne I see a picture with and a picture without the plug hole, but I cannot tell the order. Did you add or remove it? If you removed it, can you describe the process?

I built some stands to raise up the boat, and started really inspecting and cleaning it up. I removed about 20 bolts in various states of disintegration as well as the transom wood and DIY plughole attempts. I have started stripping the paint, but that work is nasty and slow.

I am planning on fixing all the bolt holes with a combination of 3/16 and 1/4 solid rivets (everything is accessible from both sides).

For the curious, the metal and rubber patch visible in the original post (and below) was indeed an earlier plughole. There was another mound of epoxy in those photos that looked like it could have been a plughole, but oddly the mound covered two small rivet-sized holes, and the epoxy popped off with disturbingly little effort. You can see a before and after below. Finally, the semi-functional plughole was a very thin piece of pipe with large JBWeld fillet - it was clearly not a commercial fitting.

mbullen said:

As for the year, you'll find the serial stamped into the spine of the transom brace.
Alumacraft (BRP) is famous for releasing their info and will usually respond to date inquiries within days.
...or if you do not need a letterhead response for the registration process, post the serial here and I can date it for you as I also have a copy of their factory records.

View attachment 119660

Click to expand...

mbullen,
I hope you can help me.

My FD’s number is FD-708.

Thank you,
Andy

atpaul said:

mbullen,
I hope you can help me.

My FD’s number is FD-708.

Thank you,
Andy

Click to expand...

1955, Andy.
First year for the FD.

mbullen said:

1955, Andy.
First year for the FD.

Click to expand...

Many Thank!

Spicy said:

Wayne I see a picture with and a picture without the plug hole, but I cannot tell the order. Did you add or remove it? If you removed it, can you describe the process?

Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply. Just noticed the question now, wow! Anyway I added it to enable me to drain the boat as needed. Better than rolling it upside down or a bucket and sponge!