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clind98

Fixing up a boat

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There is an easier way. Turn the boat over and clean with detergent and then acetone. Score the bottom with 80 grit Emery cloth. Roll on a coat of "Steel Flex." Steel Flex is used to repair airboat bottoms.

 

I bought a 10' aluminum boat 4 years ago. I knew it had a bunch of leaks. I turned the boat over on the trailer and put a shop light under it. I found 27 holes up to about 1/8 in diameter. There were probably more but I knew Steel Flex was up to the job. I use the boat a lot. Granted, I don't work it terribly hard with the 4hp Johnson but I average 2-4 days fishing each week, year around. The steelFlex has some fairly deep scratches caused by dragging the boat over oyster bars but it has 0 leaks.

 

By the way, my little aluminum boat is probably 35 years old and was an el-cheapo to begin with. I am a true believer in Steel Flex. (I don't own any stock either)

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There is an easier way. Turn the boat over and clean with detergent and then acetone. Score the bottom with 80 grit Emery cloth. Roll on a coat of "Steel Flex." Steel Flex is used to repair airboat bottoms.

 

I bought a 10' aluminum boat 4 years ago. I knew it had a bunch of leaks. I turned the boat over on the trailer and put a shop light under it. I found 27 holes up to about 1/8 in diameter. There were probably more but I knew Steel Flex was up to the job. I use the boat a lot. Granted, I don't work it terribly hard with the 4hp Johnson but I average 2-4 days fishing each week, year around. The steelFlex has some fairly deep scratches caused by dragging the boat over oyster bars but it has 0 leaks.

 

By the way, my little aluminum boat is probably 35 years old and was an el-cheapo to begin with. I am a true believer in Steel Flex. (I don't own any stock either)

Who sells Steel Flex?

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How stable are the boats after you add a casting deck?

 

For a Jon boat that would depend on how wide the boat is. I don't know how wide your boat is, but, you should be fine for yourself. We did our conversion on a bass boat, so that's a bit more stable. However, a simple Google search for Jon boat conversion or Jon Boat bass boat or similar will show you boats of all sizes, 10 ft included, with deck conversions. Here is a neat website that can help you out a bit more.

 

Main thing is the marine grade plywood OR similar backer board. We actually used an outdoor sign composite board from a scrap found at my friends Steel Building sales office.

 

http://www.secretweaponlures.com/odf/odfsite.html

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