Just started restoring a little 10 footer

[Andy H]

Hi guys, my buddy gave me a little 10 foot jon boat and i'm going to fix it up enough to take fishing out on some of the small lakes/ponds we have all around here in the finger lakes.

I've owned boats my whole life but know nothing about these small aluminum boats so I have a few questions.


Here is the boat

so far I just pounded out some small dents, took a wire wheel to it to get all the loose paint off and tore out the old wood transome and built a new one out of a 5/4 pressure treated board

my plan is to just spray the whole thing with self etching primer and then i was just going to get a quart of rustolem oil based paint, thin it a bit and shoot it with that. Is there any reason that would not work? is there a place to get the dull green paint? If it's hard to find I'll just use gray..... i'm not super picky about the color.


the one issue i'm having some trouble with is this

it has 2 support beams, and the back one is broken. the front section does not flex at all when i grab both sides and try to bring them together but the back section with the broken beam has a lot of flex to it. is there a replacement beam i can buy online? and I also know nothing about the rivets for these things. where can i buy them? will they work with my regular rivet gun?


Thanks in advance and I'm sure I'll have more questions for you guys as i get further along in the project.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Don't use pressure treated wood. The copper in the wood will react with the aluminum and cause pitting of the aluminum.

 

[Andy H]

well, that is good to know. I saw that the wood was all rotted out and was wondering why they didn't just use pressure treated :lol:

 

[Andy H]

well, it's painted and I have power

the daughter and I are going to take it to the camp and try it out on the pond this weekend. I still can't find a replacement floor support beam for this thing so i may just end up using a flat piece of aluminum.

 

[Jim]

Looks good so far! What are your other plans for the boat?

 

[FFDOZIER]

Looking good so far brother. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[jasper60103]

well, it's painted and I have power

...

the daughter and I are going to take it to the camp and try it out on the pond this weekend. I still can't find a replacement floor support beam for this thing so i may just end up using a flat piece of aluminum.

Looks brand new. Good job! =D>
Btw, your shop is very clean organized.