Sealing an Aluminum Hull

So I have a 17ft Sea Nymph aluminum center consul and it has a slow but steady leak somewhere.
It takes on a couple inches over night.
I'm wondering if there is a paint type product that I can coat the hull with that will seal the seams and rivet heads???????????????? Any advice on how to seal the hull would be greatly appreciated.

i would try and find the leak before i approached fixing the problem...pick a good dry day and put the plug in and run a hose into the boat and get under the boat and watch...you may have a leak in only one place and be able to repair it correctly.. it has been my experience that a boat will leak worse with water in it on a trailer than it will in the water...there are videos on the web on repairing loose rivets etc...the real problem in using epoxy and trying to seal a loose rivet etc is that an aluminum boat has some flex while running whether it seems like it or not and the epoxy etc will not stay stuck for long unless the proper prep is done before applying.....

I too have the same problem. unfortunately, I cannot disable my boat to access the rivets. I have filled the boat up with water, and it will only leak....when it is sitting in water. so I too am looking for some sort of an external sealant to coat the underside. my boat is an older aluminum starcraft, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I have pretty much the same problem. Its a center consul boat with a floor so taking it up and coating from the inside would be a real chore. I sealed one leak where it was dripping when in the driveway where the front keel and main keel sections meet with a JB weld patch. It seems to take in more water while under way than moored. Since taking up the floor is not going to happen I'm also looking for external hull coating products/solutions. One interesting product I have seen is Capt Tully's Creeping Crack Cure. Since the boat is too big to flip and will be sitting upright I'm wondering if the product will seep/wick into cracks if applied from below then painting over it with a quality epoxy paint for additional sealing. Just looking and considering all the options right now.

A good epoxy paint will seal the seams but it won't work if the seams are not tight mechanically...in other words, with the hull sections are moving due to loose fasteners, the epoxy (or anything else you will spray or brush on) doesn't have much of a chance...

So if an epoxy will not work a more flexible coating might ????

maybe...its only money to give your preferred product a try...

check your through hull connections even your plug. I have a similar boat with a smaller leak and think I have recently found it. Porblem with filling your boat with water is if you have a floor it will not tell you where the leak is. Mine has foam under floor so that was not an option even when i had the floor out. But I agree with above. You need to check the underside, check all seams and assure that no rivets are missing. Your boat has plenty of rivets to bond the seams. So unless your have had several of them fail or had taken a hard hit you should be fine with the epoxy coating.

After you look for the above (loose rivets) you could try Gluvit Epoxy Waterproof Sealer. There a quote a few people out there that have sealed minor leaks with this product.

CMOS

Hello, if a sealer of some kind is still needed look up and find "SEA FLEX" or "STEEL FLEX" sea flex being the better. We or I used to run aluminum hulls on airboats in the glades. Also had rivit and leak problems. These hulls had to flex! Sea Flex is a 2 part expoxy type coating that can be sprayed or rolled on. Its made for alum. Flexes very good so you dont worry about it popping off. Comes in quart and gallon. Easy to apply, cures in about 8 hrs and fully cures in about 24. Just follow instructions. ps I am still airboating but on a fiberglass hull. good luck airboat233
forgot..... sea flex is slick and cuts the water better than gelcoat (IMO)

airboat233 said:

Hello, if a sealer of some kind is still needed look up and find "SEA FLEX" or "STEEL FLEX" sea flex being the better. We or I used to run aluminum hulls on airboats in the glades. Also had rivit and leak problems. These hulls had to flex! Sea Flex is a 2 part expoxy type coating that can be sprayed or rolled on. Its made for alum. Flexes very good so you dont worry about it popping off. Comes in quart and gallon. Easy to apply, cures in about 8 hrs and fully cures in about 24. Just follow instructions. ps I am still airboating but on a fiberglass hull. good luck airboat233
forgot..... sea flex is slick and cuts the water better than gelcoat (IMO)

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The above post is for anyone having aluminum hulls with leaking problems, airboa233