- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
- Location
- Milan, NY 12571
Its a fact that most patches onto aluminum boats fail sooner or later. It's difficult to get anything to stick to aluminum permanently, the different flex rates of patches and the expanding and contracting metal eventually cause those tiny leaks to start again. However the same epoxy/ fiberglass repair kits you find for fiberglass boats, also offer good initial adhesion to aluminum, as long as the parts are thoroughly rough sanded and wiped down with acetone, the standard solvent for epoxy resins. The so called "liquid aluminum" patching material that comes in tubes also works, but it's basically epoxy resin with an aluminum and fiberglass filler.
Aluminum hulls more than .025-inch thick can be repaired by heli-arc welding at an aluminum shop, but the thinner material on most jon boats and canoes simply burns into a larger hole if welding is attempted.
Aluminum hulls more than .025-inch thick can be repaired by heli-arc welding at an aluminum shop, but the thinner material on most jon boats and canoes simply burns into a larger hole if welding is attempted.