Ryno Plastics Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Hey Guys - I just bought an old "fixer upper" 10' aluminum jon boat at a garage sale last weekend. Thought it would be perfect for some pond fishing. It has a few stress cracks on the hull and to be honest, I can tell this isn't exactly a "high quality" boat. The aluminum seems real thin and the seats just flat out scare me. But for 30 bucks I figured what the heck! I thought about fiberglassing the entire hull but after skimming through some message boards on the net, I concluded that fiberglass just won't last. I've got a friend that can do some welding for me but I want to "beef" this thing up. If anyone has any experience with this type of stuff I'd sure appreciate the help!! ~Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celticav Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 A friend of mine really fixed his up nice, you can see it here. http://users.mo-net.com/robertg/boat.htm His use of rhino lining was ingenious I thought, JIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Plastics Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 WOW! Thanks for that reply Jim. Looks like he put a lot of hard work into that thing. Basically he turned a simple 14' jon boat into a fully rigged Ranger bass boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra0718 Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 Not sure if this will help your or not, but here's what I did with my old Alum boat. I flipped my boat over and sanded down the outside roughly. I went to K-mart and got the Herculiner Bedliner for Truck beds. Rolled that out on the outside of the boat. I've had the boat for 4 yrs, not even a scratch on the liner and no more leaks in the boat. The guy that has the boat now is still got in and it's still holding up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Plastics Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 Thanks Cobra. Is that Herculiner stuff expensive? I definetely think it would be worth trying but of course it depends on the cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra0718 Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 I was around $100 a gallon, but you just can't beat it... It rolls on easy... and really goes a long way. Just make sure you do it all in one Shot! If you don't it might not be good when you open it back up. The air is what makes them stuff hard. Mine was a 14 foot Wide bottom boat and had 4 coats on it. I was left with just under 1/4 of a gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Plastics Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 WHEW! I was thinking it was around that price range. I've seen Rhino Liner before and I think it ran around 100 bucks too. I guess the only reason I'm hesitant is because I only paid $30 for the thing! But thinking about it, I know that stuff would do a great job of preventing any leaks! Let me ask you this: What about carpet and plywood? Have you ever messed with installing the stuff in a jon boat? I was planning on making the trip to Home Depot and buying some cheap carpet to put in it. Just not sure of what type of glue to buy. Need something that's gonna HOLD! Thanks for the tips Cobra, I appreciate your help. Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoya Posted October 6, 2003 Report Share Posted October 6, 2003 Ryan, Do yourself a favor and don't buy cheap carpet. The better carpet is not that much more and will last a lot longer. I have recarpeted two boats and used contact cement to bond the carpet down (as per recommended by the boat manufacturer). It holds great. Apply it with a paint roller to both the carpet and the boat, let it dry, and install it. Make sure that you have the carpet where you want it when you lay it down on the boat because it bonds instantly. Gene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Plastics Posted October 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2003 Thanks Gene. I've got a dumb question for you...How do I tell the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff? By price? And I'm a little confused...When you said: "let it dry, and install it." Do I role the cement dry first, then lay down the carpet : Thanks Again! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 6, 2003 Report Share Posted October 6, 2003 Dont know if this will help, but I had a similar boat and drilled out all of the rivets (most were bad) and replaced them with SS aircraft screws. Might seem heavy but it was'nt. Big difference in the strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
