Rivetted alloy dinghy

[vic008 17]

Leaks. Is there something I can brush on over the seams to make watertight? Thanks

[Kevin McCready 83]

Depending on the size of the problem, superglue works very well. There are different superglues, some more runny than others these days. The problem is the flexing which occurs which will eventually rip off the superglue. Best is a good aluminium welder, but they are few and far between.

[Beccara 25]

Hehe, "Good" welder

 

Depending on the foot traffic something non-setting/high stretch like buytl tape might help, jam it in the cracks and it should have enough flex to last a little while. Real solution is to re-rivet the section to regain the metal-metal seal

[tuffyluffy 76]

Sikaflex

[khayyam 68]

http://www.selleys.co.nz/trade/specialist-products/epoxy-adhesives-fillers/knead-it-aqua/

 

?

[Muzza 18]

From memory dinghies such as the Parkercraft used a mastic tape in the lapped join. My first course of action would be to try hardening the rivets up using a hammer and dolly (appropriately shaped metal weight) on the opposite side of the rivet often you don't need much to reset the rivet.

[erice 732]

another vote for a marine sealant like sikaflex

 

you want to be forcing in something that is waterproof, flexible and non-corrosive

 

ideally out of a sealant gun, use masking tape for a clean fillet  

 

 

airplanes are often made of lots of bits of alloy plate riveted together

 

in the case of a pressurised fuselage like the 747, 737. 727

 

a 2 polysulphide sealant is generally used between riveted surfaces

 

edit

Sealants. 

Boeing effectively eliminates the potential for joint crevice corrosion by sealing the fay surfaces with a polysulfide. The polysulfide sealant is typically applied to such areas as the skin-to-stringer and skin-to-shear tie joints in the lower lobe of the fuselage, longitudinal and circumferential skin splices, skin doublers, the spar web-to-chord and chord-to-skin joints of the wing and empennage, wheel well structure, and pressure bulkheads. Examples of this sealing are shown in figures 12 and 13. Nonaluminum fasteners on the exterior of the airplane and those that penetrate the pressurized portion of the fuselage are installed with sealant. Bushings in aluminum and low-alloy steel fittings are also installed with sealant.

 

Polysulphide sealants are usually formulated as one- or two-component products which are based on sulfur-containing liquid polymers. Because of their excellent resistance to fuel and chemicals, Polysulphide Sealants are widely used for any kind of construction and expansion joints on usual construction sites, for airport construction,various aerospace applications, sewage plants and areas where high chemical properties and UV resistance are required.

[rmiker 15]

If it is a riveted construction Al boat: Don't waste your money getting someone to "weld" it.. It will be a non-weld marine grade sheet. That is why they used rivets.. You would have been able to use Al solder on it when it was new but probably too late now as there will be too much oxidisation. So the best option is to re-rivet. Not hard all you need is a new rivet, a hammer and a rivet snap - if you can find one these days I still have one, haven't used it for 30 years.. Otherwise just gum it up one of the excellent products listed above..

[Kevin McCready 83]

I hear what you're saying about  non-weld marine grade sheet. But my Parkercraft has welds and rivets.

??

[rmiker 15]

 

I hear what you're saying about  non-weld marine grade sheet. But my Parkercraft has welds and rivets.

??

 

Well whatever is welded is weld grade Al: but also maybe not a dedicated marine grade. So can be repaired by welding. In the early days welding and marine grades were expensive so rivets were still the viable option for the hard/brittle marine grades as a construction technique and there are still quite a few boats around from then.

From memory Parker Craft were one of the first to go welded. My memory is not that good these days so no bashing if I got that wrong

 

  Nowdays marine grades and welding has vastly improved so you will never see a riveted boat built from new as it is too slow and manual as a method. However I personally would rather trust an older rivet than an older weld.

[Muzza 18]

Well whatever is welded is weld grade Al: but also maybe not a dedicated marine grade. So can be repaired by welding. In the early days welding and marine grades were expensive so rivets were still the viable option for the hard/brittle marine grades as a construction technique and there are still quite a few boats around from then.

From memory Parker Craft were one of the first to go welded. My memory is not that good these days so no bashing if I got that wrong

 

  Nowdays marine grades and welding has vastly improved so you will never see a riveted boat built from new as it is too slow and manual as a method. However I personally would rather trust an older rivet than an older weld.

Some of the last of the parkercrafts had welds but i am sure they never moved to fully welded. Fyran under Trevor Fyfe was the first to fullyweld (very early 1970's or possibly 1969)