Got my Ouachita back with new aluminum

[Oldfart9999]

Coming along nicely Kris, are you going to paint the bottom of the hull?
Rodney

[Kris]

Yes Rodney I am going to paint the bottom of the hull inside and out.  Truthfully, this boat has been abused sometime during its lifetime,  There are several places where the supports in the bottom of the hull have cracked from collision with something.  Someone has welded patches over the cracks that look pretty good.  But remember, this is a riveted hull.  A previous owner had put clear sealer around each of the rivets and then painted the bottom with pickup bed paint.  Ring a ding ding, this must be a leaker.  Starting sometime on Tuesday I will start preparing the inside to be painted with the pickup bed paint.  I hope to seal the inside as much as I can.  Then I am going to put the boat in the water and see where it is leaking.  I will probably end up resealing all the rivets on the bottom with 3M 5200 sealer and repaint it with the same stuff.  Also remember this boat had pressure treated wood inside the stern and that is why there is new aluminum there.  The same micro holes it caused in the stern are in the floor area also.  You guessed it, it will be prepped and painted with the same paint.  I am sure it will still leak a little but not like it obviously did.

[Kris]

I got a chance to work on the Ouachita a bit yesterday.  My goal was to get the stern area welds cleaned up and treat the sealed area as well as possible.  I had already sealed the new aluminum stern with 3m 5200.  I prepped the area with a scrub pad to get as much dirt off the area.  I then vac's the area really well twice.  I applied two coats of the pickup bed paint with a paint brush to make sure I got it all covered well. 

I had bought a gallon of primer because of the new aluminum on the boat.  Also, many of the areas are down to bare aluminum in spots.  Not sure if I like this stuff and we will see if I have to sand it all off.  If I do the paint will go directly on the boat, bare aluminum or not.

As I have said before, this boat has been abused in its lifetime.  I have evidently lost the picture of one repair.  Believe me, there are five or six repairs in the hull bottom.  There are several where the repairs were made and the aluminum around the rivets is cracked or missing.  Some worse than others but everywhere there is a patch there are cracks at the rivets.  I am going to treat those areas with 5200 and then paint all the rivet rows with the pickup bed paint.  If this does not stop the leaking it will at least cut it down to minimal I believe.

[Pferox]

Have you looked into this stuff?  I saw it recently in a quart can I think it was.  I never used it, just thought of your project when I saw the quart.

http://www.asseenontv.com/flex-seal/detail.php?p=346830

[cojab]

Have you looked into this stuff?  I saw it recently in a quart can I think it was.  I never used it, just thought of your project when I saw the quart.

http://www.asseenontv.com/flex-seal/detail.php?p=346830

I have thought about using that when I do an overhaul on my aluminum.

I did use a product like that this spring on a cattle water tank. The tank is leaking again now.
To be fair though I did no prep on the tank at all. I think that if I would have cleaned up the joints where the tank was leaking I would have had better success.
I also noticed that the spray can that it comes in does not cover very much area. It gets used up very quick and would take a lot of cans to cover a boat hull.

[Pferox]

That's why I was looking at the quart can.  Probably just treat the leaks, seams, and rivets then cover the whole thing with bed liner.

[Kris]

Well I finally got the front deck sitting in the boat. It is all coming back out to put in the water to check for leaks, but that is not all that hard.  I have a smile that won't quit.  It turned out much better than I expected.



I am lovin' how this boat is turning out.  I think it will be very comfortable for two guys to fish out of.  I just wish I could wiggle my nose and it would be done.  Where's Samantha when you need her.

[Lipripper]

Looking good.

[Kris]

Have you looked into this stuff?  I saw it recently in a quart can I think it was.  I never used it, just thought of your project when I saw the quart.

http://www.asseenontv.com/flex-seal/detail.php?p=346830

This was mentioned to me by several of my Friends.  I decided not to use it because it doesn't cover a large area and multiple cans can get expensive.  I opted for two tubes of 3M 5200 sealer which is the best marine sealer I know of.  I have used it for years and it has never let me down.  I plan on putting as much in the cracked areas inside and around all the rivets on the bottom of the boat.  I am seriously thinking of using the bedliner paint on the inside and the outside of the hull.

[Kris]

Interesting happenings here this morning.  I was in the mood to take the Ouachita to a local lake and back it into the water to look for leaks.  I had cleaned the bottom really well yesterday and used the wet dry vac to get it nice and clean.  It was now ready to go see if she leaks bad.  Of all the days in the World I couldn't find the key to the lock on the trailer.  To make matters worse it is hot and sticky here in Maryland today.
I couldn't do anything since I couldn't find the key so here are some pics of what I did.

Both decks out of the boat. I put 3M 5200 sealer on all the cracked rivet areas and forced as much as I could underneath as i could.  I gave that some time to dry and started painting with the bedliner paint in other areas.  After I got that done I went over the areas where the sealer was.  Turned out really well and will probably slow up some leaks and stop some others.  I am not figuring this to be a  completely dry boat like the Grumman but hoping it will be good.
I also painted the water line down and some of the bottom with the same paint.  I went to spin around under the boat to get a better angle and knocked over the gallon of paint.  I got back as much as I could and touched up some other areas underneath.  I am going to take a serious look at the rivets from underneath.  Each suspect will probably get a good dose of 5200 and then a coating of the bedliner paint.  The gray primer on the boat will be covered with fire engine red in a week or so.


More work to be done and more pictures to come.

[Lipripper]

Hope you can find that key so you can check it out for leaks.

[LgMouthGambler]

You can always take a hose and fill the inside with water and check for leaks on the outside.

[Kris]

Hi Lipripper,  I found the key later in the day, in the last place I looked, of course. 

Hi LMG, That is what my BIL did to find all the leaks in the rear of the boat, just inside the transom.  He welded up some of the larger ones and told me where to find a couple smaller ones.  I noticed one dripping, while I was grinding in the back, up toward the bow.  It was dripping from rain water that was in it being off level left to right.  I know I have probably cut the leaks down to a quarter of what they were and still have to finish coating the bottom of the hull.  I'm thinking I might just let it go after doing the bottom.  All the rivets will be sealed with 3M 5200 and the whole bottom painted with the bedliner paint.
Next step is to scrape and paint the inside above the bedliner paint.  At least above the installed height of the floor.  Once that is done I will cut the plywood, seal twice with Thompson's and paint it red with sand in it for traction when wet.

[Kris]

Didn't have a lot of time today for the boat, but....................  I couldn't wait to see what she would look like painted red.  I sanded the primered side with 220 grit and paid special attention to two areas that needed some assistance.  I used my usual oil base enamel from TSC and put some Petitrol in the paint.  This is my old can and I think it might be past its prime.  I will use the newer can of Penetrol that I have for the second coat and the other side,  Here it is:

[Lipripper]

Looks good in red.

[West6550]

Looking great man!!

[flowerjohn]

That looks real good there!!!


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[Bigwrench]

That's looking sweet ! Just a suggestion and you may have thought of this already but the Amazing Goop Coat-it that I used to seal my rivets and seams is Kevlar based and will provide a serious waterproof barrier.  Fully sand able and paintable. 2# kit $31 , 8# $70 , so pretty reasonable as well.  I used 2 2# kits so far and pretty sure I won't need anymore but may just get one in case I find something later on. Also did inside and outside seams for double protection. I Can't wait to see the finished product ... On yours and mine lol.

"COAT-IT is a 100% solids waterproof epoxy sealer that exhibits extreme toughness and abrasion resistance. It may be applied to aluminum, fiberglass and wood boats. It serves as an excellent waterproof membrane on wood - sealing small leaks and splits with a single coat. COAT-IT contains ceramic beads for abrasion resistance, graphite to provide slip or lubricity when it comes in contact with rocks or gravel and Kevlar fiber (the same fiber used in bullet proof vests) for extreme toughness."

[Kris]

Hi Rick,
That Amazing Goop Coat It sounds good.  I have one question and not sure you can answer it but, since it has graphite for lubricity when it comes into contact with rocks or gravel, Will paint stick to it? 
Planning on flipping the boat to do the bottom rivets so we will see.  Can't wait to get this done so I can move on to the Ranger.  Good luck with yours.

[Bigwrench]

Hi Rick,
That Amazing Goop Coat It sounds good.  I have one question and not sure you can answer it but, since it has graphite for lubricity when it comes into contact with rocks or gravel, Will paint stick to it? 
Planning on flipping the boat to do the bottom rivets so we will see.  Can't wait to get this done so I can move on to the Ranger.  Good luck with yours.

Yeah that may be true , not really sure though since mines a long ways from seeing rocks lol.

[flowerjohn]

That's looking sweet ! Just a suggestion and you may have thought of this already but the Amazing Goop Coat-it that I used to seal my rivets and seams is Kevlar based and will provide a serious waterproof barrier.  Fully sand able and paintable. 2# kit $31 , 8# $70 , so pretty reasonable as well.  I used 2 2# kits so far and pretty sure I won't need anymore but may just get one in case I find something later on. Also did inside and outside seams for double protection. I Can't wait to see the finished product ... On yours and mine lol.

"COAT-IT is a 100% solids waterproof epoxy sealer that exhibits extreme toughness and abrasion resistance. It may be applied to aluminum, fiberglass and wood boats. It serves as an excellent waterproof membrane on wood - sealing small leaks and splits with a single coat. COAT-IT contains ceramic beads for abrasion resistance, graphite to provide slip or lubricity when it comes in contact with rocks or gravel and Kevlar fiber (the same fiber used in bullet proof vests) for extreme toughness."

Rick can you use that product on a surface that you walk on and if you can is it slippery underfoot? Thanks. J.


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[Bigwrench]

Rick can you use that product on a surface that you walk on and if you can is it slippery underfoot? Thanks. J.


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Not really sure lol , on mine it's been applied in the riveted seam areas top and bottom. It doesn't feel slippery to the hand touch. It appears to be pretty hard but again it's too early in the process to give a real good report.

[hughesjasonk]

Looking good

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[Smallie_Stalker]

Wow, that red really pops!!! Looking good there Kris. 

[Donald Garner]

She's looking good there