Think I did it now....Couple of odds & ends.....

[wolfe]

oh boy, skooter...

This project is going to be much tougher than the lighting job you took on in your backyard!

However: you can do it! Just know you can.

Good luck!

W.

[M.T. Livewell]

Skooter, good point about stainless screws in an aluminum boat. Not good to mix metals. Been a while since I've owned one.

Good luck bud, keep us posted.

M.T. Livewell

[Hoss]

Hey Skooter, did you come across a pair of size 13 tube socks by any chance.

Good luck with the redo bud but this thread alarms me because I've used stainless on my boat to attach rod holders, down rigger brackets, electronics,etc. What can I expect to happen?

Skooter wrote and M.T. agreed

Just a little aside here, ....DO NOT, .....AND I MEAN, ...DO NOT, ... "USE" STAINLESS STEEL BOLTS, SCREWS, ...HARDWARE OF "ANY" KIND, ...ON AN ALUMINUM BOAT.......PLEASE ....trust me on this one....

What have I done?

[skooter]

Hey Skooter, did you come across a pair of size 13 tube socks by any chance.

Good luck with the redo bud but this thread alarms me because I've used stainless on my boat to attach rod holders, down rigger brackets, electronics,etc. What can I expect to happen?

Skooter wrote and M.T. agreed

Just a little aside here, ....DO NOT, .....AND I MEAN, ...DO NOT, ... "USE" STAINLESS STEEL BOLTS, SCREWS, ...HARDWARE OF "ANY" KIND, ...ON AN ALUMINUM BOAT.......PLEASE ....trust me on this one....

What have I done?

Hey Hoss..... How's it goin' bud.....

Okay first things first, .......figured you'd have guessed I found 'em from my original post.....

On the positive side, ....I found a few things, I've been looking for since spring, ..But, ....I also found a few things, .....I'd rather not have.... :shock

.......Now, .....just take a wild stab in the dark here, ....and guess which catagory they fell under.?....


As far as the stainless and aluminum go, .....they will actually chemically react with each other when in contact, ......basically, .....it corrodes the aluminum away, .....weakens it, ..... so it can't support much weight anymore,

You can see the ramifications in your situa,.....(enough said)

If you can insulate the two, ......even removing what you can, and just slobbering sealant all over it, ..... before reassembling will help......

Take it easy Bud.....

P.S. .....you got a muskie with my name on it yet?

[roughrider]

Hey Skooter, did you come across a pair of size 13 tube socks by any chance.

Good luck with the redo bud but this thread alarms me because I've used stainless on my boat to attach rod holders, down rigger brackets, electronics,etc. What can I expect to happen?

Skooter wrote and M.T. agreed

Just a little aside here, ....DO NOT, .....AND I MEAN, ...DO NOT, ... "USE" STAINLESS STEEL BOLTS, SCREWS, ...HARDWARE OF "ANY" KIND, ...ON AN ALUMINUM BOAT.......PLEASE ....trust me on this one....

What have I done?

Hoss,Its called Galvanic Corrosion,and occurs when metals of two different properties are butted together. A power drain or electrical leak from batteries to the boat hull will hasten corrosion. If you notice white powdery substance present around stainless to aluminum connection,I would check for power drains. Normally, new aluminum boats have a protective coating added before painting for corossion prevention.I have used stainless and hav'nt noticed corrosion,my floor is attached with stainless screws.



roughrider

[Hoss]

Thanks guys. I'll check the situation and give the areas a shot of silicone. One more thing for my mental checklist to keep an eye on. Can't see any damage as of yet.....my floor is connected with what appears to be stainless screws as well. Thanks again

[JimW]

Hoss,

Hopefully you will be okay and there will be no reaction between the stainless and the aluminum. It all depends on exactly what type of stainless steel alloy the screws are made of. Some of the stainless alloys do not react very much or at all, where others will. Again it all depends on what elements and their proportions are in the stainless steel whether a chemical reaction will take place or not.

Best of luck.

JimW

[Dartee]

1) find the leak and fix it, ....

2)get her back together, ...albeit temporarily, ...for the rest of the year, ....(don't worry crew, ....you won't have to sit on coolers at Quinte)


She will be ready for Quinte!!!!!!

I'm predicting two weeks tops, ....and she'll be ready to rock & roll for the season....

Scooter
Sitting on coolers (portable livewells) wouldn't be to bad.. The exposed ribs with a Quinte chop thats another thing
Let me know if I need to bring the hand pump for the bildge at Quinte if the leak isn't found...or if I need to bring a couple of boat cushions

Good luck
Your a brave soul..hope it all goes back together painlessly with no spare parts

[skooter]

This will probably be my last "working" update till next weekend....

I really wanted to get my boat wet today, ...but the weather didn't want to co-operate, .....much, .....at all, .....period

Seemed like everytime I went in the house, ...the sun would peek out, ....everytime I went out to get everything ready, ......the black clouds would reappear, .....finally gave up, and took care of some important business...

Of course, ....as soon as I left the house, ...out comes the sun,
...and it just smiled at me, ..... the whole time I was away, .......

By the time I got back, ....it was tooo damn late to go out anyways.....

Decided to work on that back board, ......

Lugged the gas tanks, battery, ......and everything else that was back there out, ....and shoved them up to the front.....

The skin peeled and discarded.....



Drilled and ground all the rivets out, .....

I couldn't budge the board though,

See how the side edge there, (upper right) .....lays over top of the floor, ....no way to get it out in one piece.....



.......jigsaw time, .....whacked her up the middle, .....and the two pieces slid out no problem.....

The remaining foam, ....exposed....





This was removed, ....and now she sits, .....naked as the day she was born..... (again)





That's all she wrote, ....till I can get 'er in the water.....

The front now, .....gas tanks are behind that wood, .....somewhere?



Left those pieces of board in there, cause I'll have to lay one down to put the gas tank back on....

Covered back up for the time being,



....will probably start setting things up through the week, .....for the water test, ......"D" day, ...... will be Friday aft., ....I hope...

That's after a side trip to my seemingly second home this year, .....the dump....



While I'm getting her ready this week, ....gonna look her over, and decide how to proceed from here, .......

Found a couple of things that bothered me today, .....but I'll update them during the week, ....and ask for your help....

Darn, .....I got that floor out, ....and I forgot to check the screws for the transducers, ..speedometer, .....etc,

.....somebody remind me tomorrow, ....okay?

Thanks again....

skooter

[allan.c]

hi scooter, your project is like a boat i had with the same problems (rotten floor due to water infiltration from a leaking drain plug)I was lucky the leak was easy to find.I found out that aluminum boats can leak not only from the rivets but also from the seams between the sheets of aluminum this happens when the caulking they put between the seams before assembly dries out. your boat holds water in the driveway,it most likely only leaks with pressure on the hull or is higher up than where you tested.when i took out the floor in mine it was held in place with aluminum strips riveted into the hull,I didn't replace the floor.I used blind rivets(aluminum head,shank and waterproof) to fill the holes.I got them from tec-n-tec they have a website.i have some here if you need them another option guys are using is coating the outside of the hull up to the waterline with epoxy bedliner such as (armor coat,rino coat) you can get it at auto part stores it ain't cheap.what about those aluminum welding rods that you use with a propane torch?have you ever used any.I think the only concern would be that the weld material of the rod might crack over time if its brittle.lets hope it's something simple take care allan.c

[M.T. Livewell]

I see a bobber, a stringer, and what must be the elastic from one of Hoss's socks.

Funny, you do that in my boat, you find twister tails (from white spinners), dead worms from where my kids were playing, chips, chips, chips, and misc old line and vegetation.

Keep up the good work Skooter. Looks like you are doing her right. Be sure to wear your rainboots when you take her out in case you don't find the leak till your a couple of miles off shore.

M.T. Livewell

[spinner]

Skooter,
Here's a link to a supplier of expandable foam for use in boats that may be of help to you.
http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

[skooter]

Thanks guys....

hi scooter, your project is like a boat i had with the same problems (rotten floor due to water infiltration from a leaking drain plug)I was lucky the leak was easy to find.I found out that aluminum boats can leak not only from the rivets but also from the seams between the sheets of aluminum this happens when the caulking they put between the seams before assembly dries out. your boat holds water in the driveway,it most likely only leaks with pressure on the hull or is higher up than where you tested.when i took out the floor in mine it was held in place with aluminum strips riveted into the hull,I didn't replace the floor.I used blind rivets(aluminum head,shank and waterproof) to fill the holes.I got them from tec-n-tec they have a website.i have some here if you need them another option guys are using is coating the outside of the hull up to the waterline with epoxy bedliner such as (armor coat,rino coat) you can get it at auto part stores it ain't cheap.what about those aluminum welding rods that you use with a propane torch?have you ever used any.I think the only concern would be that the weld material of the rod might crack over time if its brittle.lets hope it's something simple take care allan.c

I sincerely hope it isn't a seam leaking, .....I've got an aluminum "stick", ...it's like putty, ...you just break a piece off, ....knead it for a bit, ...and stick it where you want, .....dries hard as a rock in about 5 min. .....worked great on a couple of missing rivets I found in the spring, ...

I'm toying with the idea of that bed liner stuff on the bottom too, ...but you're right, .....it ain't cheap.....

I see a bobber, a stringer, and what must be the elastic from one of Hoss's socks.

Funny, you do that in my boat, you find twister tails (from white spinners), dead worms from where my kids were playing, chips, chips, chips, and misc old line and vegetation.

Keep up the good work Skooter. Looks like you are doing her right. Be sure to wear your rainboots when you take her out in case you don't find the leak till your a couple of miles off shore.

M.T. Livewell

MT.....

All the twister tails, and everything else for that matter, was rotted away, ...by the sox...

No need for rainboots, .....this will be a "Grand" test (river that is... )

No further than 30 yds from shore at any given time.....

Skooter,
Here's a link to a supplier of expandable foam for use in boats that may be of help to you.
http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

Thanks spinner,

I'll check that out, .....I'm not even sure though, ...if I want any more of that stuff down there....

Does anyone know a reason, ......why I need it?

Oh yeah, ....checked the screws for all the stuff hangin off the back, ....they appear alright, ...we'll see friday.....

Still need to try and "extricate" a bit more foam from the front, ....just have to figure a way to drag it out.....

Thanks again guys....

[M.T. Livewell]

Skoot,

The foam you "need" for floatation according to the coast guard rules. Or, that is to say, the manufacturers need to put it in when the boat is new.
One thing about the stuff, it really helps to deaden the noise of the waves pounding the bottom of the boat.

Personally, I could take it or leave it.

Good luck bud. Get lots of pictures of the "bathtub at the grand".

M.T. Livewell

[allan.c]

hi scooter,before stripping out the rest of the foam try spraying the outside of the hull with a pressure washer or a garden hose on the areas with rivets. you mentioned you had found some rivets and repaired them were they near the rollers?(alot of weight in a concentrated area)if you get a chance replace the rollers with bunks the length of the hull to distribute the weight more evenly on the hull. a few guys up here have had leak problems due to the weight being on the back and no support underneath(weight behind the rollers).if you do change them, extend them beyond the transom a few inches.take care allan.c