Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Starcraft aluminum boat

I have just picked up a 15ft aluminum V bottom boat that has not been in the water in 28 yrs. Painting any special primers,paint? Boat will only be used in my small pond to help in spraying the weeds. I do have the equipment to spray paint do not want to get in to having to use out side air source (to breath) I live in Texas and my pond is to low to check to see if boat leaks what are my odds that if primed and painted corectly that boat would not leak. I am in my 70's so do not want to spend a fortune but I need to spray the pond if it ever rains enough to fill again.
THE OLD MAN

I may have the same boat you do. The factory is just up the road from me about 8 miles. If you've got questions I would contact Starcraft and give them your model number etc. Good luck. Mine is great little boat. I'm going to set mine up for electroshocking.


Starcraft Marine LLC
201 Starcraft Dr.
Topeka, Indiana 46571
United States
Website: http://www.starcraftmarine.com
Phone: (866) 772-4538
Fax: (260) 593-2816

if using spray paint yes make sure you use a primer suitable for metal work. easier way to check for leaks is to sit the boat on blocks and fill the inside of the boat with a little water. any drips on the underside will show you which rivets are loose. Mark the rivets and simply tighten them with a hammer (put something on the other side of the rivet that's heavy and hit it with the hammer on the other). Using a little tar will seal it up too. Please note that if sanding down the paint first the aluminum will oxidize fairly quickly once it is exposed to air. Went through all of the above with me first and only boat "The Ugly Pike" this winter. Fun project except the guy at HD sold me pressure treated wood to use as flooring in my aluminum boat-apparently pressure treated wood will eat through aluminum in no time!
Any more questions let me know as I have done quite a bit of work on these smaller aluminum boats. Best of luck Old Man!

Ahhhhh! Like checking the airseals on a spaceship by pressurizing it to 2 atmospheres in the backyard - there is still 1 atmosphere of pressure on it to show any leaks!

Theo if you'd like help with yer interstellar spacecraft I have done plenty of repairs on those too. Those dang GSF don't know how to put anything together properly!

Mash,

What about using silicone to back up the rivets once they are pounded in?

yep, used that too Cecil. In fact I much prefer working with silicone than tar but the tar was at hand and gramps always used what was around. The silicones now are incredible and I think gramps always preffered the tar out of habit as opposed to utility. I exaggerated the difficulty of tightening the rivets as you don't need to hit them all that hard.
Cecil you're right about contacting the manufacturer as they can often be quite helpful. Anyone wanting help with some of the smaller aluminum boat questions I'd be glad help with what I can. Just finishing the flooring and carpeting too, only two more months till ice out!