Thread: 10 Foot Bass Boat - Clean up Questions

Be sure to cover your wood with some sort of protectant. Fiberglass resin thinned with acetone does a great job of sealing. Rivets would work well...or nuts and bolts. Not a big fan of screws myself. Be sure to get stainless hardware...then it doesn't rust anymore. Most hardware stores will have stainless stuff.

As far as the cracks...yeah you need to do something or the cracks will worsen. JB Weld is good...there are so many epoxies and fixing kits out there you really can't go wrong with any of them. There are some now that set up so quick and hard you better be quick with getting them on there. The holes will be so the epoxy has something to grab to. Best thing is to have it welded with a MIG or TIG or maybe oxy/ace welding. Probably just one of the good epoxies though.

Good luck!!!

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah I had planned to get some sort of stainless hardware as there are some tie down bolt loops on the front of the boat that have rusted to.

My sentence about the rivets was how to remove them?

Would a home improvement store sell various epoxies I could pick from? And do I just lay the epoxie in the crack and not worry about the holes in your opinion?

oh...yeah as I type I forget what some questions are...do that often...I'm getting mighty forgetful now-a-days...lol.

Just drill the rivets out. You get a drill bit that will just fit into the rivet. Sometimes they do not break off clean and some of the rod in the center of the rivet gets left sticking out. If thats the case it can be a booger to get out. If its done right the rivet will have a hole in it. Put the bit in that hole and drill through it. Rivet will either come out on the drill bit or spin. If it spins the bit was a little to small. If it comes out you were right on the money. As for Rivets with no hole on the outside you have to drill from the inside. If you can't get to the inside take a sharp punch and try to get a small hole started in the head of the rivet. Increasing size of the punch a few times until you get a good pilot started. Once you have a good spot put your drill bit in there and drill it out.

Most hardware stores will have epoxies of some sort. You might do a search and look around for what will best suit your need. Go to The Aluminum boat modification site! and look around. Maybe post a question and show those pictures. Thats a GREAT resource! LOTS of knowledge of tin over there.

Do go as much stainless as you can. More expensive but will last. In my opinion I would use the holes. Anything like bondo or an epoxy or jbweld needs something besides the surface to bond to. There is a heating and chemical reaction that occurs with most epoxies...but...you will have a stronger bond if you have some holes for the epoxy to get into and harden in. Not to mention you have a pulling force there. You will be doing the same thing as you would by splicing it together with a piece of sheet metal and putting nuts/bolts, screws, or rivets in...but the epoxy will be tighter and look cleaner when your finished. You wouldn't want to do that on a transom where there would be way greater forces, but just small cracks that are not in a really stressful area I wouldn't worry to much. Although there is some reason that the crack started....probably some sort of stress... but could have gotten hit or anything. Just have to use common sense on that one.

Perfect, exactly what I needed to know thank you.

However does it matter which type of epoxie I get as my boat is made out of ABS?

A buddy of mine kept mentioning the JB weld that is in a clay type that you need together and then apply it to the crack. Would this be a good option?

I apologize if the question is redundant, but this being my first boat I'd like to get some good fishing time out of it.

Opps...I was thinking that was an aluminum boat...I was wondering if it was abs...lol... then assumed it was aluminum.

Yes you need to use something that is suited for plastics. They have those also. You can use fiberglass uses a resin suited for plastics. They call it plasticote. Its pretty cheap and you can get it at a autoparts store. Probably can use an epoxy from an autoparts store also. Just make sure its okay to use with abs.

First off Gundy, welcome. As to the crack issue, I find that the epoxies don't flex like the boat and will flake off down the road. If it were mine I would drill the holes to arrest the crack, then take a piece of thin aluminum and bend it as close to the shape of the boat you'll be patching. Next you scuff the plastic lightly to give better adhesion. Then smear a liberal amount of silicone on the aluminum and press in place enough to push some of it out the sides. Remember to leave enough to do the job. As it sets and begins to stiffen, take a new razor blade and trim away the excess. Also bend the corners, if any, of the aluminum inward slightly so they don't get grabby. Let it fully set up after trimming without disturbing it for at least 24 hrs. I firmly believe you'll be happy with the results.

We have a lot of kayak shops around here and the ABS can be welded at a kayak shop.Call around.
Also harbor frieght sells a plastic welding kit but might have take a lot of practice to weld plastic.

Welcome aboard, First the info on the rivots has been excellent! However the boat itself
you'll need to find out the material. ABS I doubt it, probably HDPE and all of the epoxies and
such will only last a limited time with your first application lasting the longest. The plastic
welding is what I recommend if it's HDPE and the kit from Harbor Freight is weak for a best
answer. Find somebody who does this kind of welding their equipment is far superior and you
will be money ahead. It's not very expensive and their job will last the longest. I had a Bass-
hound 10.2 that wore through the keel from sliding in and out of a pick-up. I tried all the
above stuff and finally did what I'm recommending and I was very happy I did. ABS can be
glued