Aluminum boots are useful than fiberglass and wood. They are lightweight, fast, and maneuverable. As compared to wood, these boats are durable. Wood rot is common in wooden-hulled boats. You can avoid this problem with aluminum. Remember, aluminum can’t shatter just like fiberglass. For this reason, aluminum boats are easy to repair.
Unfortunately, an aluminum boat does have some risk of damage, hard-grounding, or collision. These problems may increase the chances of cracked seams and leaks. With brazen rods, you can fill in and patch holes of damaged boats. In this situation, boat owners can get advantage of self-repairs. Here are some easy steps for repair:
Remove Boat from Water
Remove your boat from the water and move it to a port or covered garage. Put three sawhorses on a flat surface in a triangular configuration. Ask someone to lift the boat and balance its sides. Clean its damaged area with some rags and acetone.
Make sure to remove water and mud stains and algae. Before you start cleaning, wear gloves and a mask for your protection. Put your boat in a position to face the crack or hole at an upward highest position.
Remove Dents from Boat
Ask an assistant to hold the anvil when you wield a hammer. Aluminum may suffer a collision impact to cause an inward dent in the metal. Make sure to pound this dent out from the hill using a body hammer. Your assistant should use one hand anvil to offer a backstop.
Flatten the outline of the body by straightening and tapping. You have to stretch aluminum to imitate its actual shape.
Size of the Hole or Crack
Before repairing a dent, make sure to determine its size. Feel free to use aluminum scrap strips to back it. Dab epoxy on thin strips of aluminum and glue these pieces to the base of your boat. You have to cover the crack. It will offer a manger for material like a brazen rod to settle in.
Grinding Cone and a Drill Motor
With the help of a drill motor and a grinding cone, you can grind a channel (V-shaped) in a crack. If your boat has a puncture, bevel the inner of a hole puncture with a cone bit and grind to get more surface area for the brazen weld. Remember, the brazen weld must adhere to this place. Use 220-grit sandpaper to sand the area of the crack and overlap this area on every side.
Propane Torch
A propane torch will help you to heat a cracked area thoroughly. Scrape this area with a wire brush; use crosshatch strokes to uneven the aluminum surface. Make sure to hold consistent heat on a crack to fix the HTS-2000 brazen rod on the crack sides.
There is also another possibility that you can use a tig welder which can weld aluminum sheets and it will done the job nicely.
With heat, you have to allow the brazen melt so that it can flow in the hole or crack. The melted brazen should fill the gap up. The melted brazen rod must cover the damaged area. Let it cool down, scrape it with a wire brush to remove residue and small slag.