Repairing an Ali dinghy
Submitted by Bonito bonito on Tue, 2016-05-17 19:58
Hi all,
up in coral bay with a very small 3mtr Ali dingy.
One of the base plates is coming away at the welded seam along the keel.
not great obviously and leaking pretty badly.
Does anyone have experience fixing this kind of issue?
I spoke to a welder in exmouth but he said it might cost as much as I paid for it(500) and that I would be better 'bogging ' it up as many he rapaired before have come back leaking again.
I would appreciate any advice on the issue, best options/ products or processes for fixing.
on a side note anyone needing and experienced deckhand this week in coral bay please let me know:)
thanks
.thumbnail.jpg "Izzy again!!!!")
Madmerv
Posts: 672
Date Joined: 24/01/15
Welding Ali
The welder in exmouth is a complete dick.
A little bit of grinding and a weld along the crack will do just fine. The weld should be stronger than the plate if done properly and would take 15min. even if he expects to be paid $200 per hour it is cheap.
Putting some kind of bog in there will just make it harded for a real welder to do the job.
Sometimes when the water is quiet, you can hear the fish laughing at you !
sea-kem
Posts: 15034
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Agree,500 is a rip off. It
Agree,500 is a rip off. It will depend on the contamination of the ali as to how easy it is to repair. Would need to see some pics to assess how long it would take.
Love the West!
dodgy
Posts: 4582
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Would depend on the crack.
Would depend on the crack. If it has metal fatigue it will just crack again right alongside the weld and it will need a much larger patch to repair it.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 15/08/11
How old is the dinghy
How old is the dinghy ?
Welding an old dinghy that could be corroded and fairly thin can be a futile exercise.
Bonito bonito
Posts: 5
Date Joined: 14/03/13
Thanks for the replies.it is
Thanks for the replies.
it is older.
the base plate Ali appears to be quite thin anyway and wobbles when on the plain.
however pretty sure it is separated right along join so I would imagine it is fixable.
It has been painted so hard to tell but looks like it has been patched along the seam before with some kind of product from underneath.
Still pretty confused what to do.
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Filler is killer
Depends on how good a job you want , if its a $500 dingy to be used at Coral bay for a week ,
I have used ali filler , as per devcon liquid ali metal but around 100 bucks , or permatex brand , alot cheaper etc for temp repairs before.
It wont handle too much flexing but it will temp fix a leak if used with a strenghtning plate to spread the load , and some auto parts store in exxy should carry some.
I used it on a old ali tub we used for bream bashing years ago , and in the main it worked.
If its a good dingy you will be using for a while , and you have assperations of going more than swimming distance from shore,
then dont bother.
Just squirting some along a cracked seam will do Jack , its not a miricle in a tube.
quadfisher
Piggy
Posts: 553
Date Joined: 24/08/12
Sika Flex
Honestly mate I have a dinghy that I have repaired the leaks with Sika Flex..... Had the dinghy for over 2 years now and the sika flex is still going strong. Main thing is to make sure it is dry and clean so you get a good stick!!
Easy and cheap!!
I go boating not fishing