getting Tin-Can ready for summer

[Tin-Can]

Got started getting Tin-Can (the boat) out of winter storage today. Had a project I wanted to attempt this year. My little 14 ft. Lund is a step up from the basic open hull boat. This one has vinyl covered wood decking from front bench all the way to the transom. On the left side it has a live well with aerator and on right side it has what is listed on  the 2007 sales description as a "Dry Box". That is just a basic storage area with a hinged lid with Perco latch. For the almost 14 years I've had this boat, I've carried lots of stuff in that box. Blankets, first aid kit, spare prop, some basic tools, spare trailer lights, assorted extra ropes,  registration, insurance, annual mussel sheet, etc.  Some of the items  like the first aid kit and emergency blankets I keep in seal-a-meal, double vacuum sealed plastic. 



  Dry Box with lid open

Well about 4 years ago I noticed that the dry box was not staying dry. I thought it was from a couple trips I took without the travel cover and got rained on. Or a couple sudden rain squalls I got caught out in at Willard. So I sealed all the edges where the box meets the deck, and where the lid hinge meets the right side hull.  That seemed to solve the problem. Until last year. I didn't get rained on while on the water, and I didn't make any trips without the travel cover, but I had begin to notice water in my bilge area more often while on the water (Lunds are darn good boats, but rivets do get loose after awhile) . When I emptied out the boat to store for the winter last December, much of the stuff was wet and beginning to mildew and rust. The items that were vacuumed sealed were fine, but my boat documents in their canvas pouch were wet, and my tools in an old Air Force canvas tool bag were rusted and the bag was about to disintegrate. (Well that bag WAS about 30 plus years old).   Anyway.........  I had the idea of buying another live well plastic insert from Lund and installing it in the dry box as the internal dimensions are the same.  But after some searching and emails to and from Lund, I was told that live well isn't used anymore by Lund and they didn't have any in old stock. 
So next idea was maybe I could seal the inside of the hull rivet lines that were in the common wall of the dry box. 



Inside Dry Box before cleaning

Today I got a 5' x 6' roll of shower pan liner and some marine grade caulk and 3M spray adhesive. I removed the lid and decking over the dry box, cleaned out all the debris, sealed all the accessible hull rivet lines (didn't find any that were loose) cut and dry fit shower pan liner membrane. Made some tweaks and minor adjustment cuts, then sprayed the inside of the box area and the back of the membrane and pressed it back into place. It seemed to fit and adhere quite well but needs at least 12 hours of cure time on the sealant. 
So tomorrow I'll go back to the boat shed and see how well (hopefully) it stuck. 

                                         

 Pan liner dry fit                                    Rivet line sealed and liner adhered with  3M spray adhesive  




Liner material view from top.

Hopefully the liner material stays "stuck" . Next step will be to get the rest of the boat put back together and make a trip to Willard, maybe next weekend and with nothing in the dry box, do a visual leak check.        .

[Mooseman75]

I hate leaks, they bug me to no end. Sorry you have them I hope your trick works. The only thing I have used is a marine grade putty that I've put on screws before too stop potential leaks. I just can't remember what's called.

[dubob]

You do know that you can buy Flex Seal in a paintable, liquid form, don't you?  Flex Seal products are my 'go to' products for water leaks.  I have used the spray, tape, and liquid and they all were 100% effective.  Nothing wrong with your approach Tin-Can, but the Flex Seal liquid might of been easier to apply.  Maybe next time. 

[SkunkedAgain]

Good luck Forest, hope this will take care of the issue for you... Boats sure take some maintenance to keep them in top condition... for me it's more like just floating... Hope all goes well for your upcoming season.. Know you have some big plans so hope the boat will cooperate.. Later Jeff

[Tin-Can]

You do know that you can buy Flex Seal in a paintable, liquid form, don't you?  Flex Seal products are my 'go to' products for water leaks.  I have used the spray, tape, and liquid and they all were 100% effective.  Nothing wrong with your approach Tin-Can, but the Flex Seal liquid might of been easier to apply.  Maybe next time. 

    Yeah Bob, I have used Flex Seal also on other applications. I've had this boat almost 14 years, and I have a hunch that the water is coming in thru some of the bottom hull rivet lines. I can't get access to those on the inside to paint without pulling up my entire decking. The decking is all riveted to the longerons and ribs that are in the bilge area. The bilge all drains back toward the transom where the water can be pumped out by the bilge pump, so until the leak gets to  the point of causing a bigger concern, I just control it with the pump.  The rubber  membrane I put in yesterday is an effort to seal the dry box area off from the bilge area where the bottom hull curves up to the boat wall.  Any water that leaks in now from the hull should be held out from the bottom of the box, hopefully.   I checked the membrane today and it was all stuck down good, so
I'm taking the boat out to WB south tomorrow to do a float and leak test.   

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I hate leaks, they bug me to no end. Sorry you have them I hope your trick works. The only thing I have used is a marine grade putty that I've put on screws before too stop potential leaks. I just can't remember what's called.

   Aluminum, riveted hull boats will eventually develop some leaks. I knew that when I bought this one new in July 2007.  I've only put holes below the water line where my sonar unit is mounted. I sealed those bolts with Dow Corning aircraft fuel cell sealant, and they have held great for almost 14 years.  Any other leaks there may be are most likely coming in from loose rivet areas in the hull, and I can't get to them unless I pull off my entire decking inside the boat.

[wiperhunter2]

 Any other leaks there may be are most likely coming in from loose rivet areas in the hull, and I can't get to them unless I pull off my entire decking inside the boat.

Forest, I fixed my old boat that had a couple of rivets leaking without pulling up the deck. There are two ways to do it, the easiest is just to use the flex seal and paint it over the rivets on the outside of your boat. If that option does not appeal to you the other option is to drill out the bad rivet or rivets, then when you put the new rivets back in, just put sealant on the rivets, when you shoot them back in. The way to check where the leak is located is to fill up the inside of your boat with water, then just figure out where the water is coming out.

[RockyRaab2]

I had a small but annoying leak in my kayak. To find it, I put the boat up on saw horses with the bow higher than the stern. After I put a few gallons of water in, I slowly lowered the bow (allowing the water to creep forward inside the boat) until the first drip appeared. That positively zeroed in on the leak.

[Tin-Can]

I had a small but annoying leak in my kayak. To find it, I put the boat up on saw horses with the bow higher than the stern. After I put a few gallons of water in, I slowly lowered the bow (allowing the water to creep forward inside the boat) until the first drip appeared. That positively zeroed in on the leak.

   That would work if my boat was as light weight as a kayak.