1992 Hewes Craft Corrosion

[castaway]

I just registered today for this site, but have trolled it for information over the past few years. What can I say? I fear commitment.

Our late summer boat camping trip ended early when I realized we were only a failed bilge pump away from being stranded on that beach. My boat was taking on water at greater rate that ever. I trailered the thing (left some water in it) and examined the bottom. Here is what I saw.



I spent the next few days removing floors, fuel tanks, etc. The boat is now gutted, and fortunately the major corrosion is limited to 3 boxed in sections. These sections contained three fuel hoses as well as the foam which made a great baffle for any sediment that was trying to move to stern with whatever water there may be. I had a pile of crud in there. I removed the fuel lines. (the fuel tanks look great) and powerwashed the entire boat floor and acid etched the areas show here:


Here is a closer look.


I've read on the forum about using epoxies, brazing rods, welding. I want to get some opinions from some people who have maybe had a similar problem. I really want to save this boat. Except for what you see in the pictures, it's in really good shape. How should I go about make this boat seaworthy again?

 

[Brine]

If the corrosion is limited to what I can see in the pics, I'd probably drill out a hole and use a rivet and some 5200 where any small holes exist. You could then use Gluv-it over the area, but I'm not sure if it's needed.

 

[riverbud55]

As a welder I would say weld being it a welded plate boat ,,, guessing its a 3/16''+ bottom being its a HC,,, think I mite give the factory a call see what they say,,,, thing I would want to know is why it happening??? does it have something grounded to the hull? Does it have a large well attached sacrificial anode?? theirs a problem there and it needs to be stopped

 

[castaway]

Thank you both for your replies. I've been doing some additional research. These holes, once cleaned and drilled out will be too big for a rivet. I'm concerned that welding, although probably the best fix, would require cutting out and replacing the entire section at considerable cost. I'm pretty confident that the Gluvit product could do the trick for me, but I'm thinking of selling this boat and I'm not sure how well that would be received by a potential buyer. Has anyone used the aluminum brazing rods? These will melt at 500 degrees and I've heard some good things about fixes using these. I'm not sure how hard it would be to use them on a hull bottom. I've never used one.

 

[Tallpine]

You might try brazing with HTS-2000. Good stuff. Here is a link.
https://www.aluminumrepair.com/boat-repair.htm

 

[Winddog]

Tallpine » 41 minutes ago[/url]"]You might try brazing with HTS-2000. Good stuff. Here is a link.
https://www.aluminumrepair.com/boat-repair.htm

Good stuff? More like "snake oil" and yes I did try it. It's melting point is higher then that of my Valco's aluminum so you do the math.

 

[Winddog]

Here's a link to the thread I started on a fishing forum on just this subject.
https://www.fishsniffer.com/forums/boats-motors-gear/111405-aluminum-brazing.html

 

[Tallpine]

We just used it on a Valco so you do the math!!!! It worked fine to weld some cracks at rivet holes. Lose the attitude already!

Winddog » 10 Sep 2014, 13:53[/url]"]

Tallpine » 41 minutes ago[/url]"]You might try brazing with HTS-2000. Good stuff. Here is a link.
https://www.aluminumrepair.com/boat-repair.htm

Good stuff? More like "snake oil" and yes I did try it. It's melting point is higher then that of my Valco's aluminum so you do the math.

 

[Y_J]

I'm getting ready to use the brazing rods on mine. There melting temp is 750 according to my research. Using a propane torch (you don't want to get it to close or you'll melt another hole in the hull) heat up to area to be repaired and touch the rod to it and work it around the edges of the hole. Let the hull melt the rod, not the torch. As you work it around the hole edge work you way in to the center. From all the videos I've watched on youtube about doing this, the repaired area turns out stronger than the original area.
Just my 2 penny's worth. Good luck with whatever you do
BTW you can get an 8 pack of the rods at Tractor Supply for about $13.