Older aluminum boats with rivets and seams get leaky over the years; It’s unavoidable. And if you’re not a welder, or have never bucked rivets before, there aren’t many good options to stop leaks in your aluminum boat. Sometimes, the quick fix is a tube of GOOP and cross your fingers and hope for the best….
For a more long-term solution, we have developed a simple 4-Step sealing system to make your leaky aluminum hull stop leaking, all in your own backyard, with standard tools.
STEP 1: Cover all the rivets, gaps and seams with GOOP!
Use a tube of Amazing GOOP to seal up any loose rivets or weeping seams. -Using a standard caulk gun, simply apply a bead of the Amazing GOOP to any areas you want to seal up. Then using a gloved finger, wipe the GOOP into the area you are trying to seal up. It’s just like caulking a bathtub, so don’t overthink it. Do this on both outside AND inside of the hull (if you have access).
Pro Tip: Adding a little acetone to your gloved finger allows your finger to slide much easier along the GOOP. Allow the GOOP to cure for 24-48 hours.
STEP 2: Apply Rivet and Seam Epoxy
Stripe the GOOP, seams and rivets with Rivet and Seam Epoxy – Simply roll a layer of Rivet and Seam Epoxy over each strip of GOOP, every seam, and every rivet. Again, do this on both the inside and outside of the boat, and everywhere you have applied GOOP. Together with the GOOP, our Rivet and Seam Epoxy reinforces and protects the already durable leak stopping caulk line and fully encases the GOOP layer in a protective and flexible coating.
Step 3. Apply your FINISH COAT (Inside hull)
On the inside of the hull, apply Wearlon No-Slip Floor Coat, in 2 complete layers. Floor Coat has 3 different grades of grit embedded in it to keep you from sliding around. A standard roller will do the job.
Pro Tip: Have a cheap foam brush handy for hard to reach areas, awkward seam lines and rivet heads.
Step 4. Apply the FINISH COAT (Outside)
On the outside of the hull, apply a Wetlander 2-Layer kit, or (even better) a Wetlander 3-Layer kit for even more protection. Wetlander kits resist corrosion, electrolysis, and makes the bottom of your hull MUCH slicker to reduce drag and to make launching/loading/portage MUCH easier. All of this further protects your GOOP repair, adds more layers of flexible and waterproof protection, and improves the performance of your boat.
Once it’s all dry… Your leaks are gone.
In the end, you will have a protection sandwich, a 5-layer quintuple layer leak stopping power lasagna of impenetrability, a water stopping aluminum fortress of flotation, all of it improving the performance of your boat; Super slick on the outside for better speed, no slipping/sliding on the floor, and those annoying leaks that have been bugging you for years are finally GONE. So what are you waiting for?! The time to finally fix your leaky tin can IS NOW!
You can find all of the products you will need for the 4 Steps right here. Call Scott at 518-469-3612 if you have any questions.
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Why we prefer GOOP over other marine sealants….
Over the many years of communicating with the thousands of sport fishermen and outdoorsmen (from all over the world) about their boats, one of the most common questions we are asked is “What is the best sealant for leaky riveted aluminum boats?!”. For a while, based on some testing and loads of customer feedback, we recommended 5200 by 3M. Recently, we decided to purchase most of the top brands to test again, this time more elaborately, and find once and for all, what works the best.
This is what we found,… (just to state – we have no special deal with any of these brands – none. We purchase their products retail, like everybody else).
After testing various well known Marine Sealants, we found many outright failures. Some had poor adhesion to aluminum. Some took too long to cure (some take a week to cure). Some become too hard and brittle, and vulnerable to cracking and chipping. Some were too weak and elastic.
So after much testing, it came down to two finalists: 3M 5200 (Fast Cure) and “GOOP” Marine. Both exhibit the right balance of tough and elastic. But we ultimately chose GOOP as the run-away winner over 5200 for these reasons,… GOOP exhibits superior adhesion strength to aluminum. GOOP levels out better (easier to apply), and is just much less expensive than 5200. 5200 is almost 3X as expensive, and GOOP works better.
Furthermore, GOOP cures fast, is reusable (with some, like 5200, the entire tube hardens within 24 hours of initial use and the very expensive tube has to be thrown away). GOOP exhibits a perfect viscosity for seeping into, and sealing up, leaky rivets and seams. Higher viscosity sealants, like 5200, have trouble penetrating smaller seams, pinholes and getting under the rivets, and is difficult to level out. GOOP penetrates and seals very well. And lastly, we know Wearlon Wetlander coatings get great adhesion to GOOP. So when overcoating the GOOP sealant with a Wetlander coating, there will be no worries of the coating lifting and flaking off those sealed spots, like can often happen with other potentially incompatible paints and sealants.
What is the Best Boat Sealant 