two leaks in alum hull

[cajun bill]

For some time I have been noticing lots of water in bilge of my 16' Customcraft flat boat so today, I decided to find the leak. Filled the bottom of the boat up and found two leaks, both very small. One goes "drip, drip, drip" and the other goes "dripdripdripdrip"

Anyway, anyone have any luck patching these types of leaks with JB Weld? I'm guessing JB won't hold because it can't flex. I keep thinking of that dumb commercial where the manufacturer puts a screen door on the bottom of a flat and paints it with this rubber stuff and it "never leaks", anyone have any luck with that stuff or something like that? Trying to avoid having to bring it somewhere to be welded. any suggestions would be appreciated.

BTW, I can't get to the bottom from the topside cuz I have a welded in floor so anything I do has to be from the outside.

[Gerald]

In my experience......take it to a welding shop and get fixed right. Depending on how hard it is to repair......$ 20 to 50 should cover the cost.

I have tried the JB weld fix.....it won't last.

[cajun bill]

can it be welded while on the trailer or must it be flipped over to weld it? thanks for your response

[Gerald]

Welding shop will lift up the boat [if needed] with an overhead hoist.....weld it and set it back on the trailer.

The aluminum weld "gun" is fairly large and can not fit into tight spots. Welding from the bottom is usually not a problem, if they can get to the spot.

[Matt G]

PM sent. DO NOT use JB weld!!! I tried it on a pond boat and it was a miserable failure! Weld that mofo and be done with it!!

[mequain]

IF you try JB weld, it will just make it harder to weld when the time comes to have it done. Go ahead and weld it and be finished.

[Bdub]

Look up West System G-flex, there is a kit at west marine and they actually changed the gflex kit to aluminum boat repair kit. Its 2 part epoxy based and will actually flex with the aluminum. I used it on some leaky rivets on an old boat and it performed really well. Or you can go get it welded but sometimes there is an issue with material thickness by the time it gets cleaned up enough to weld.