I am trying to tackle a leaking aluminum boat.
I am first trying to determine what is going on under the keel strip, how the aluminum panels are joined and what kind of waterproofing there is (or was).
I am reluctant to remove the keel strip (because as my wife reminds me, I am not very good at getting things back together and I would have 40 holes in the hull.)
I notice though that keel strips on different boats are affixed differently.
my keel strip has rivets at quite long intervals, about 4-5 inches.
Looking under some other aluminum boats at my local marina, I see that they had very tightly riveted keel strips, about every 1/2", and the grey caulking was visible at the edges of the strip.
I guess I am asking if anyone can confirm (or even best guess, better than mine) that my keel strip (with the long gaps between rivets) is likely just there for protection and is not actually holding any waterproofing material (there do not seem to be enough rivets to hold the keel strip tight enough)
and if so, what might I find underneath that keel strip if I were to remove it? (that knowledge or good guess might help me decide how best to tackle the waterproofing before ripping everything apart, possibly unnecessarily.)
Peter
many thanks I am going to try Gluvit, which has been highly recommended. I believe it goes on as a paint more than an epoxy. because I don't want to go at it from the underside (necessitating removing the keel strip) I am going to try flowing Gluvit in from inside the hull and letting it flow down and setting (hopefully) in the leaks. I'll report back as to how it goes. But I would still love an idea of what's going on under that keep strip. Peter