Where to Start?

scrob · Jun 15, 2017

Hey all. Picked up a craigslist special, 10-footer of unknown make for 70 bucks which is about a buck per small hole near as I can tell. I've gone through with JB Waterweld to make it suitable for a small pond, but I'd like to do a proper repair/mod so it's just a little more comfortable and maybe could fish some small rivers if I decided to get a trailer. I did some searching, but is there a basics for beginners section or post on here anywhere? My instinct was to take the bench seats out and get rid of all the waterweld, drill out the stainless screws the guy who sold it to me used and then start filling with pop rivets with waterproofing sealant, but my brother-in-law said he thought taking out the benches would hurt the hull integrity of the boat.

I guess I have no idea what I'm doing, so any guidance would be appreciated.

RiverBottomOutdoors · Jun 15, 2017

Brother is right. That' not a really a bench...it's a beam that you can sit on; it's structural. Patching the holes somewhat depends on size and location of the hole. Post some pics of what you're working with.

stinkfoot · Jun 15, 2017

Amazing Goop Coat-It can really help in these situations. Like the man says, post pics so we can see the size of the problem.

scrob · Jun 19, 2017

Here she is. Looks like the previous owner took the benches out already and then just kind of slapped them back in with galvanized screws and some kind of gray goop. Most of the machined holes have nothing in them and there is some strapping across the middle that clearly wasn't originally part of the boat.