Western14’
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2019
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Bought a 14’ tinny on the cheap...for good reasons. Previous owner must have ran into something and put a big tear in the bottom of the hull (see photos) The PO repaired it by riveting another piece of aluminum to the outside. The gaps & rivets were smothered with silicone on the outside of the hull. The damage on the inside of the hull was covered in flex seal paste. Gross, I know lol. It worked for the last year, but eventually began to leak somewhere. The leak was nothing to cause immediate concern, as it was minimal enough that the bilge wouldn't remove any water. After 8+ hours on the water, there was maybe 1/2” of water at the stern of the boat. I could have left it for the time being, but since I’m currently redoing the bunks, I figured I might as well address the issue now that the boat is off the trailer.
I should have taken a photo showing why I chose “smothered” and not covered in silicone. So far I removed all the silicone and cleaned up the area with a wire wheel. The coin shown in the photo is a dime for reference. I’m looking for any and all suggestions to go about sealing the outside, besides welding. I was originally going to re-silicone everything but since have found HTS 2000...basically an aluminum brazing rod with no flux required. (Aluminumrepair.com) One concern that I have with the rods is that the silicone in between the hull and aluminum plate will melt and if the HTS 2000 doesn’t hold, I may have a larger leak on my hands than before I started. Besides cutting up and recycling, any suggestions? How bad is it? Appreciate all the help and, of course, thanks in advance.
I should have taken a photo showing why I chose “smothered” and not covered in silicone. So far I removed all the silicone and cleaned up the area with a wire wheel. The coin shown in the photo is a dime for reference. I’m looking for any and all suggestions to go about sealing the outside, besides welding. I was originally going to re-silicone everything but since have found HTS 2000...basically an aluminum brazing rod with no flux required. (Aluminumrepair.com) One concern that I have with the rods is that the silicone in between the hull and aluminum plate will melt and if the HTS 2000 doesn’t hold, I may have a larger leak on my hands than before I started. Besides cutting up and recycling, any suggestions? How bad is it? Appreciate all the help and, of course, thanks in advance.
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