Torn keel repair

[sawmill]

Don't start hammering on it let the shop do it. If you do it it may cause more to repair. As far as it getting to hot to hurt the gasket they can use a heat sink and not damage anything. I had a lower unit welded on a motor I bought and they weled that with all the seals and bearing in it with no damage. So let a shop do everything.

 

[bcbouy]

if that was my boat,i'd have them cut out that section of torn keel and fab up a new piece and then weld it in.just my 2 cents.

 

[Mizzie]

Thanks for all the replies and help fellas, I appreciate it!

Today I called around, got a few quotes then I went to my local bait shop and asked him if he had any suggestions. He referred me to a Marine transport & repair shop which also actually specializes in Marine/aluminum welding. I brought the boat to the guys, who were very helpful, Although I think they thought I was a little crazy for wanting to put $ into the boat haha. Real nice guys, the boat is sitting in their garage right now and will be taken care of tomorrow. I pick it up at 3pm after work tomorrow and actually can't wait.... feels like Christmas for me! I thank you guys for 'slapping' some sense into me! I usually like doing all of my own repairs so I was reluctant to let anybody else touch it, but welding really is the best way.

This isn't the first old tin I've brought back from the dead! I'll post some pictures. tomorrow of my last Jon boat I did a "total restoration" on.

Will update with pics of the weld once I pick her up from the shop, hopefully good news!

P.s. Will I be frowned upon if I roll on a layer or two of truck bed liner? or is that considered a hack job? I want to for peace of mind and durability, I know they sell durable epoxy boat paints but since I already have the bedliner, why not? haha. Also, this stuff rolls on smooth as to not cause drag unlike some bedliner paints.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[MrSimon]

That's great that you found a good place to fix the boat.

Regarding the bedliner, well, you are fixing up an old beat-up aluminum boat, so pretty much anything is fair game. You could cover the thing in super glue and nobody would give you a hard time

My personal preference is to leave the bottom of boats un-coated. If it doesn't leak, that's plenty good enough for me. Coating the hull just means that eventually you will have to remove the coating for one reason or another. Removing coating to fix rivets or weld cracks is a huge pain the butt.

Unless you plan to run shallow rocky rivers, or plan to beach it on gravel or cement regularly, I don't think you'll need to coat it.

 

[Kismet]

Good work, Mike. =D>

congratulations on finding a shop so easily.

As for the rest, it is your boat. If you want to put a stripper pole and a flat screen on it, have at it.

Enjoy it and be safe.

 

[Mizzie]

I was thinking about a stripper pole and flatscreen but not sure I'll have enough room after I install my disco ball, kegerator and popcorn maker. We'll see though

About the bed liner, my trailer for this is a flat trailer which means I usually beach my boats and back the trailer down to (but not in) the water. So maybe I'll just coat the keel as that's the part that takes the most abuse when beaching. I considered using my 17' Boston Whalers trailer while the Whaler is docked but for such a light boat it seemed overkill.

Few more hours till I pick it up, excuse my lack of knowledge here but is the boat water ready after this or do welds need a certain amount of dry time to set? I may have just won the worse question of the month award haha.

Mike

 

[Kismet]

when de weldes is done, they's done.

bring a PFD and a grin.


Have fun.

 

[Mizzie]

haha okay. And yes a PFD is a given. I'm a former Coastie and have witnessed too many tragedies to know, always keep a PFD onboard even if you're only in a small lake fishing near shore.


Mike

 

[Mizzie]

Sorry I took so long to update, I was busy in the garage all night!

Picked the boat up today, the guys did a good job and even put some epoxy on the rivets around the area as a precaution. They also repaired a hole in my hollow keel skeg and fixed my rear bench seat support which was missing some rivets which I wasn't expecting them to do so that was nice of them..

Here's some pics.

 

[Mizzie]

P.S. If the bottom wasn't so dinged up I would have left it bare aluminum because I liked the look, But having this stuff on will give me a little peace of mind. I only painted the bottom of the boat (the area I had sanded previously). Not sure what color I want to paint the topsides of the boat and what kind of paint I'm going to use yet. Much more to come.



As promised earlier.... Here's a pic of my previous tin boat which I brought from a leaky, faded basic blue jon boat with no motor, a weak transom etc to this, doesn't hold a candle to most of the conversions I've seen here but I loved it and got a lot of compliments on it... I sold that boat in the summer of 2010 and I actually just seen it on craigslist a few months ago, still looks great... I wanted to buy it back but the guy was asking a lot more than what I sold it for! :roll:

As for this new project... I already want to put a carpeted floor, low pedestal swivel seats, couple other odds and ends... If I do deck it, it will be a lightweight deck more for looks rather than fishing from because the bow of this is a lot more 'tippy' than the flat bottom when standing up so no deck fishing/standing. Will start a build thread when the time comes.


Thanks,
Mike

 

[Kismet]

Picked the boat up today, the guys did a good job and even put some epoxy on the rivets around the area as a precaution. They also repaired a hole in my hollow keel skeg and fixed my rear bench seat support which was missing some rivets which I wasn't expecting them to do so that was nice of them..

Nice you found professionals. Appears like they've been here before. Good work, and nice of the bait shop guy to suggest them.

Previous boat is great.

Now...on to your blank canvass...and your new masterpiece.

Have fun.

 

[nlester]

Same boat I have. I have a slatted floor of 1 1/2 " by 1/4" slats that is removeable. This keep everything drier in the boat and is pretty light. I also added a slatted wooden shelf in back of the bow seat. It gives me a place for the fish finder, tackle box, a place to prop my feed if I am drift fishing and a place underneath for the battery and a rain suit. Everything is removable so I can still launch it from the bank. I had a 7" post for the rotating seat for almost 2 years I but took it off because it would be very easy to flip the boat if you suddenly reach for something that is going over the side. I did not get wet but I did not realize how quickly I could shift the center gravity from that height. I hope you enjoy the boat as much as I do.

 

[Mizzie]

Thanks a lot. I took it out today for some fishing after work. Boat did great, no leaks. I'm very happy with it. I still haven't painted the sides or inside yet that will probably be next weekend.

nlester, I'd love to see pictures of the floor set up and of your boat if you get a chance post em please.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[nlester]

My floor is more of a prototype that I will replace now that I know that it works. It is rough sawn wood cut 5/16" thick and 2" wide. It is loose laid but sturdy. I can pull it out to take the boat cross country on the dolly and launch it from the bank.

Here is the floor between the two bench seats. the ends of the slats rest on the aluminum boat bottom.
Cliick to enlarge

I have a shelf that hooks on the bottom lip of the bow seat, fits between the grooves that run along the side of the baot and is held in place by bungee cords that hook to the front of the bow seat, run under the bow seat and shelf to hook to the back of the shelf and pull everything together.


My battery is held in place by a frame under the bow seat.


Even though nothing is fasten in place, all of it feels solid. The shelf on the bow is even sturdy enough that I used it for a step getting in and out of the boat.

I have one more section of slated floor that fits behind the last bench seat. Besides making the floor flat, it keeps the things in my boat a lot dryer because there was always water puddling around and getting things wet. There is plenty of stroage room behind the battery under shelf for rainsuits, drift chutes, anchor, etc.

 

[nlester]

Here is the information on the 10' Sears modified V-Hull. I know from experience the floatation informaton is accurate.

Below is a link to a conversion of a 12' version.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=26991