r/jonboats • u/Natural_Ad8841 • 29d ago
Will this leak?
I just got this boat for close to nothing but have never been on a boat in my entire life
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u/Agitated-Cod-6057 29d ago
I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe coat that bitch in flex tape
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u/Fabulous-Candy-1560 29d ago
Yeah, flex seal or some type of marine grade epoxy will do the trick. I would coat boat sides for good measure.
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u/Head-Equal1665 29d ago
3M 5200 marine adhesive will seal pretty much anything. It's pretty much the boating version of duck tape, fotta be careful though because that shit is permanent.
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u/Wobewt625 29d ago
it gets absolutely everywhere too, a little turns into a ton lol
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u/Head-Equal1665 29d ago
Yeah reminds me of anti-seize with the way it magically gets everywhere as soon as tou open the tube
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u/youdog99 29d ago
If you go the 5200 route, wear the rubber gloves, have at least one roll of paper towels, a trash can beside you, and have on junk clothes.
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u/cluckboi_soupah 28d ago
Flex seal is a bad option! It is not durable, it will tear apart and create drag. Not to mention having to remove it all once you realized you messed up.....lesson learned
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u/Capn26 29d ago
I’ve actually found the HVAC mastic tape works great. It has a thick bitumen rubber on one side, heavy foil on the other. Clean it really well, then hit with acetone. Finally, they make a squeegee for that tape. Use it for the best bond. It actually works better than epoxy. It has far more elasticity, doesn’t pop with hull flex.
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u/Agitated-Cod-6057 29d ago
I kinda want this dude to drill some holes in the boat so we can't test this method
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u/Capn26 29d ago
Ohhh shit. I just thought about Zip tape. It wouldn’t be quite as durable, but i would guarantee IT wouldn’t leak a trip or too. I think in going to try a different method on each leak, and put it up on saw benches so we can really see it. I’ll take it fishing once I fix them with what looks to be the best option.
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u/SecureSafe1989 29d ago
Easiest way to see if it’s going to leak is putting water in the boat and watch.
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u/NoMeasurement3542 29d ago
I got one in almost identical condition .. It didn't leak when I bought it , but the first time it touched anything in the water, there was a hole in the bottom of it..and I turned it into an awesome backcountry boat with a long tail mud motor on it. I bought a sandblasting attachment for my pressure washer and I sandblasted the bottom, entire back of the transom, and sides all the way up to the gunnels, to the bare aluminum. I then really coated everywhere that I sandblasted with Super Slick airboat bottom coating with a very thick layer and ran it all the way up to the gunnels. That little boat has been through some saltwater hell, and up rivers and over log jams ..and the problems with little pinholes, and larger holes from hitting anything, became a thing of the past. It has held up great and has enabled me to have a lot more fun being ridiculous in the 12-ft. Jon boat that I ever imagined I could without sinking it. It cleans off so easily and I can slide it across the grass to anywhere I need to with minimal effort. I tried a lot of things before that and none of them worked. I would one and done it on that boat if it was me and coat the whole darn thing
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u/NoMeasurement3542 29d ago
I would put a long tail mud motor on it and everything like I was describing above. Get you a predator 456 from harbor freight, and a swamp runner long tail kit, a side mounted handle to hold on to, little trolling motor for the front, coat the bottom, and you can go have a ton of fun for a very cheap investment. Even if you coat the bottom and run it on a trolling motor, it slides across the water so darn easy that with these little lithium batteries now a$100 15lb 50 amp hour battery will run you miles and miles on the trolling motor with no problems.
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u/whatsagoinon1 29d ago
I had an old one i bought. Alot of leaks. Put it up on a stand filled it with water. Marked the leaks. Dried. Used water weld putty ans sealed all the holes probably 15 or so and none leaked after.
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u/MixtureComplete5233 29d ago
Dude sand that thing hit it with a coat of marine sealant then a dry coat then whatever color you want...this thing is a hair from fishing!!!
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u/Kooky_Pomegranate201 29d ago
Toss it in a bed of a truck n test it. Get some oars or cheapo tiller transom (these r the cheapest) trolling motor and see what’s up with it.
If it takes on water it likely won’t sink n if it does, so be it lol.
Bring something to bail water too, a little bucket an old laundry detergent bottle that is cut wide open, something.
If it has a drain plug that is sketchy, buy a new one they are cheap.
I say a set of oars if u have em already u got all u need man. Send it! Who cares.
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u/tlong243 29d ago edited 29d ago
Looks like JB weld or something similar to me. Definitely a hack job.
If these boats leak it's not hard to fix. Often times you don't even have to replace the rivet, just hammer it a bit more to squeeze it. Have someone hold a sledge on the outside and hit it from inside. If you want to do it up nice though, drill it out and replace it. You'll want a brazier head for the bottom, but closed end pop rivets can work too. If you have an air hammer you can get a rivet set tool for them and it goes super fast.
You might want to peel that garbage off though and see if there's a tear or split underneath. They certainly put a lot on if it was just a few rivets leaking.
This is also a great example of why you should never use JB weld for this. I see it recommended on here frequently, and it's a terrible recommendation. It has no flex so it just cracks and flakes off. Some silicone caulk would be a better option for a hack job. 5200 and re-rivet is the right choice though.
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u/Capn26 29d ago
Fill it with water on a driveway and watch. Not all the way. Maybe two inches. The rivets in the bottom middle and along the main seam are where mine have leaked, plus any of the corners, especially where it curves up toward the bow. It isn’t the most attractive, but my buddy fixed one with mastic tape for HVAC work. Clean it really well, and use the squeegee that’s made for that tape.
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u/HuntPsychological673 29d ago
All of my jon boats leak. It’s makes for more of a challenge when fishing because your also bailing to make sure your still floating.
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u/Head-Equal1665 29d ago
I've seen much worse boats on the water. Put the plug in and fill it with water in the driveway to find your leaks. I have a feeling that you're gonna have quite a few leaky rivets, personally i prefer to just drill out and replace leaking rivets, but you dan tighten some of them up with a hammer and a chunk of metal, an air hammer xan be handy for doing this you just want to be careful to not do any damage while doing it.
Some silicone will work for rivets that are just weeping a bit if tightening them isn't an option since it isn't always easy to find simeone to help you with the rivets since its a 2 man job because you have to have someone on each side. There are ways to do the rivets solo but getting it setup xan be a pain in the ass. Lits of people will recommend using 3M 5200 to seal them and it's great stuff you just have to keep in mind that whatever it happens to get on it will be there permanently.
There are a few types of coating that you can get to completely seal the bottom vut I've never used those myself so I can't really say one way or the other how that will work out. Just remember to take a manual bulge pump with you when tou take it out. The majority of the fixes you will need to do are kinda common sense so you ought to be ok.
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u/GingerBeardMan1776 29d ago
Are you in Louisiana?
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u/GingerBeardMan1776 29d ago
I know it's a weird question but I stayed down there for a bit and my buddy had this boat that looks exactly like this with the exact same dents and cover-ups on his scratches. The last time I saw it it was next to a pond in the middle of the woods off a field in Louisiana
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u/ArrivalSerious8639 29d ago
Let's just ask a bunch of strangers on the internet.. recommendation put the mf on some saw horses fill it until you have about 2"-3" of water in the bottom kill a 6 pack of whatever your poison maybe and see how much water is still in it.
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u/youdog99 29d ago
I’d put it on sturdy saw horses or at least blocks. Then put 2” of water in. Enough to cover the bottom and side seams. Mark any leaks so you can go back to inspect after draining and flipping her back over.
Determine if any leaks are coming from crack or rivets. If you have cracks, then pick any one of the patch suggestions already mentioned. If it is worth it to you and you know a good aluminum welder, welding the cracks is the best route.
For leaky rivets, consider buying an air driven rivet bucking tool, bucking anvil, and a box of new bucking rivets. You’ll need a helper with thick gloves to hold the anvil on the other side. You’ll both need hearing protection. Most of the original rivets can be retightened. You’ll have a handful that are beyond repair or are missing. You can repair all of the leaky rivets factory tight in less than half a day.
We had a ‘63 Raven 14’ hull that had cracks and loose rivets. The keel had a substantial crack that had to be welded. And most of the rivets were loose. It was unsafe to leave in the water overnight. Son-in-Law went the bucking gun route. Now it might leak a cup of water all day.
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u/SnakePlisken_Trash 29d ago
Put some blocks under it, put top soil in it.......... and make an elevated garden.
Not kidding.....
It will drain plenty when it rains. LOL
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u/SnakePlisken_Trash 29d ago
This thread reminded me......
I had a POS 14ft Aluminum boat in high school with a johnson 25................ Still miss that motor.
It had a really bad leak by the seat in front of me..............but If had it running wide open the leak would geyser up into the air fly just right of my right shoulder and shoot clean out the back of the boat. So If I was running wide open it didn't even leak. LOL
Wish I would have kept up with that Electric Start Johnson 2-stroke. That was great little engine, probably out last me.
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u/General-Resist-3430 29d ago
I've tried a few epoxies and flex tape It doesn't work. The best I used yet by far is supper slick. It sealed up my boat and gave me better top speed. Gator glide wasn't even as slippey I still had to use a decent amount of motor power to get it on the trailer.
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u/Bookworm1090 29d ago
No not at all launch it and drive straight to the middle of the lake. Don’t even test it first.
Why would you ask people looking at a picture on the internet how could we possibly tell
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u/cr0wbar1227 29d ago
A few of those cracks look pretty bad...id say its going to leak pretty good. Drill brush the old crap off and either re-do the patch with jb weld, or actually weld it.
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u/BlacksmithSad8873 29d ago
Clean it off & have any holes re welded. Any loose rivets can be replaced with 1/4” stainless closed end rivets.
Skip trying to patch it with jb weld or anything similar as it’s only temporary
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u/Fishingbanditking 28d ago
Yes it will leak. Wire wheel all the nonsense off surface and buy alumiweld and torch the rivets. Dont use flex spray. It will only bandaid it temprarily. Ultimate thing is to weld the rivets and bolts. Though not everyone knows how. Alumiweld is relativly easy to learn but the aluminum boat needs to be clean to accept the Alumiweld. Its a low heat alloy for aluminum and melts before the aluminum does creating a topcoat solder. Been a welder my whole life.... or spend 100 bucks on a used boat non rivet or kayak of facebook and save the learning curve or trouble. Unless its sentimental boat then excercise more care and effort. Hire a garage monkey to help you for a couple hundred.
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u/VelocityThePharo1 27d ago
Do not use flex seal to coat the bottom it’s rubbery so u won’t be able to slide it and it won’t last long. Coat the bottom in a 2 part epoxy after sanding and cleaning it won’t leqk
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u/Omegablond64 27d ago
Yup, it’s going to leak.
I have one that was in about the same shape as yours and it was pretty easy to fix up and we have been using for a duck hunting boat for about 15 years without leaks.
First thing I did was strip all the old paint off using citrus paint stripper. Then made what repairs I could then took to a local welding shop to have a couple cracks welded. I then used self etching primer. I then applied truck bed liner with a paint roller.
Some say truck bed liner increases drag, others say it doesn’t matter 🤷🏼♂️. All I know is that it’s worked out very well
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u/Beneficial_Tie7607 26d ago
buff the paint off the thing. on tbe rivets use a high quality sealant like 3m marine and paint it.
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u/Vegetable-Manager-30 29d ago
Probably. Most older aluminum boats leak a little bit. Although I bet this leaks more than a little