1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

[bassmanhb]

hello everyone,

i just came across a great deal on the above boat its a 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder and trailer. the dealer couldnt sell it as it has leaks and no one wanted to buy it so he placed it on craigslist for $695.00 .....

long story short i bought it, took the front deck off and found 4 rivets leaking (2 leak a steady small stream) in the front of the hull so nothing to serious.

my questions are , whats the easiest way to rebuck the rivets ? and how has everyone applied the gluvit (already ordered ) ? by this i mean do you just use the paint brush and brush it on making sure it gets into every nook and cranny on and around the rivets/seams ?

any help would be greatly appreciated and pictures would be the best for showing this old dog new tricks


thanks and i look forward to getting it done so i can hopefully get it out at least once this year before winter sets in.


bass

 

[pmillar]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

$675?! Did it come with a motor? Regardless, you got a sweet deal at that price. It sounds like you're on the right track but I'll folks with first hand experience weigh in on the rivet repairs.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

pmillar,

yes $695.00 is what i paid for it..... and no, no motor just the boat and trailer. it has a depth finder that seems to work (havent been on the water to test yet ) and also a marine radio in it everything seems to be in good shape otherwise.


bass

 

[rbstewart]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

bassmanhb,

Nice score on the Sea Nymph!

IMHO, if you are taking the time to rebuck solid rivets, you might as well replace them. Rebucking will require a rivet gun/hammer with the correct size head, a bucking bar and a helper. If you have the tools (or can borrow them) its not a tough job. You can probably get replacement rivets from a local quality marina or repair shop.

If you dont want too or can't deal with the solid rivets, you can use closed end "pop" or blind rivets. These you can put in with a hand pop rivet gun.

In either case, If possible, get some Gluvit in the hole before you insert the rivet, then buck them home! You can brush and D R O O L the gluvit in and around the rivets, stringers and hull braces. Don't be shy!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

Nice score on that boat. Yep, just brush the Gluvit. I wouldn't mix up more than half the can at a time though.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

thanks for help and congrats,

1 more question what is everyone using to clean the erea around the rivets and seams before using gluvit ? anything special or just any cleaner ?

yes its funny because just the other day i was telling my wife about others who have gotten "good deals" on boats and why i could never find them in time

then i was watching craigslist because we needed a bigger boat now so the family could all go out fishing at the same time. (have a small bass boat rated for 3 or 400lbs) when this one showed up so called and was the first caller and told him i would be up to look at it right away, when i saw it i told him id take it. heck the trailer,rod holders, depth finder, and new toungue jack are worth it alone.

so now its just a matter of waiting for the gluvit i ordered to get here, should be here next monday they say.



bass

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

Welcome to iboats and the tin can club, nice rig there

Use a wire brush drill attachment to clean up the areas prior to gluvit. Then you can vacuum up all the bits of metal, wash with a vinegar/water mix and get to work.

I agree that replacing the rivets altogether is the way to go. I did this for a few thru-hull rivets on my Starcraft using 3M 5200 to douse the rivets before popping them in.

Then put down the gluvit, hitting all seams and rivets under the waterline.

The bow/gunwales of the boat seem to angle down quite a bit forward of the consoles...is this factory design to make it more wind resistant or has it been bent?

My dad has a 17' Sea Nymph that is almost identical and it does not have that dip in the bow.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

huron,

thanks for the cleaning info helps a great deal..... the hull is in great shape and that downward front came from the factory like that as the very few other pictures and info i could find of this model sea nymph all looked the same.

i have also taken out the old built in gas tank (gas smelled like laquer) that was in her and will hit the rivets and seams in the main hull with gluvit to be sure there are no leaks there. and replace with a smaller new tank.


bass

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

hello again,

can the foam in boats be dried out ? and if so how long does it take ? the foam in front i can get to and remove but the foam under the outsides of where the fuel tank are/were i can't get to without removing alot of rivets that also go thru the hull (really dumb design) this foams first 1" or so on the bottom is wet so its not totally soaked.

is there any way to get the water out ? like slide a cloth under it to wick it out ? fans or blower ?


thanks



bass

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

It's all been tried on here and the determination is that it will NEVER dry out. One member has had one opened up in the texas sun for a couple weeks now and it hasn't done squat. It's gotta come out. Replace with the pink or blue foam boards from Lowes/HD or I actually used pool noodles in mine.

 

[redfury]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

I think the problem with water in foam has to do with surface tension...there is too much of it for it to effectively be drawn out of it and exposure to the sun doesn't help much because there isn't enough surface area exposed vs. the amount of actual water in the foam. I'm sure there's something scientific about it that I'm not aware of, but that's my best technical guess as to the problem with foam in water and drying it out.

Really, the trouble you go through trying to dry it out, you can scrape it out and replace it in half the time and effort that you would go through trying to save it. Foam isn't THAT expensive to make it worth your while to try and keep it.

 

[RobbyA]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

It's all been tried on here and the determination is that it will NEVER dry out. One member has had one opened up in the texas sun for a couple weeks now and it hasn't done squat. It's gotta come out. Replace with the pink or blue foam boards from Lowes/HD or I actually used pool noodles in mine.

That would be me!

IT IS NEVER GONNA DRY OUT!!!! A month of Texas sun with the deck pull off and it was still soaking wet.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

I think the problem with water in foam has to do with surface tension...there is too much of it for it to effectively be drawn out of it and exposure to the sun doesn't help much because there isn't enough surface area exposed vs. the amount of actual water in the foam. I'm sure there's something scientific about it that I'm not aware of, but that's my best technical guess as to the problem with foam in water and drying it out.

Really, the trouble you go through trying to dry it out, you can scrape it out and replace it in half the time and effort that you would go through trying to save it. Foam isn't THAT expensive to make it worth your while to try and keep it.

red, reread my post its not the cost of the foam that im having trouble with its the fact that thru hull rivets have to come off from the bottom and sides of the boat to get to the foam...... not a fun task when your handicapped let alone putting the rivets back in....


bass

 

[redfury]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

red, reread my post its not the cost of the foam that im having trouble with its the fact that thru hull rivets have to come off from the bottom and sides of the boat to get to the foam...... not a fun task when your handicapped let alone putting the rivets back in....


bass

I wasn't necessarily posting specifically towards your project, but at wet foam in general.

Handicapped or not, the most common questions on this forum are of people trying to get more done with less work, no offense. It's human nature to work smarter, not harder. Simple fact of life is though, somethings require harder first, and smarter second. Look at my project in its current state. I'm dealing with thousands of blisters in the gel coat...probably more of them than rivets in your boat! Ultimately, the best way to fix the problem is to sand off the gel coat! That's hard work! Personally, more than I want to get involved in. Personally, more time that I have to do it. So, I got the next best route. Go for the cosmetics angle, grind out the rivets, epoxy them and move on. It's not going to affect the integrity of the hull, but I'll probably end up seeing them again. My choice, and I've been properly educated by members here that know better and have given the information to me to use, or not. That's all I can expect out of anyone that reads anything I post. Either take something from it, or not. I'm not out to chastise anyone, or demean them or flame them for what they are doing. I post honestly and truthfully and will stand by that. Again, it's the choice of the reader to take from it what they want, I have no control over it.

If you choose to rivet the boat from the outside and live with the fact that for now, you are going to have wet foam in the boat, at least you know what the ramifications are for your decision. At least if there are problems in the future, you'll have an idea what the root cause of it may or may not be ( boat listing to the side, slow to plane, always has a trickle of water coming out when the plug is pulled, etc ).

Again, no offense to you personally. I just look at it like this. iIf a guy with no arms and legs can drive a friggin' boat and be happy about his lot in life, I've got nothing to complain in mine, especially when something challenges me.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

hello again,

well decide to do a complete tare down of this boat, then i will rebuild it to my liking...... im thinking of making it into more of a bass fishing/ muskie boat with a back deck and a long live well.....


started the deconstruction of this boat i have the front deck out along with the side livewell and storage compartments....... will post pics tomorrow....

otherwise i might get into trouble from the wife as it is mothers day after all

more to come.....


bass

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

.hi,


well here are the first pics of the tear down, one before and one after and also part of what was taken out so far. hoping to get back to it right away and get the rest out.

first i have to figure out how to get the console up and out of the way without taken ALL those wires off LOL...... might just use a rope to lift it a few inches to get the aluminum and wood floor out from under it.....should be back on it tomorrow morning...



bass

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

well,

today i got half the aluminum deck off and was suprised to find..... NO WOOD except a couple small 1 ft square peices (rotted) where the seats mount...

i then started pulling the foam out and it was wet, not soaking... but wet none the less, the foam up near the boat sides is dry so that will help save some time and effort.

QUICK QUESTION, what foam boards is everyone buying to put in their boats ? seems like what ive seen doesnt hold water like the original foam.
i was going to use the swim noodles like ive seen others use but my boat has to many stringers basicaly small squares under the boat decking.

so after dinner time to go back out and get back to removing foam..... yippee



bass

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

ok im stumped.... has anyone seen an aluminum boat that has had this happen ? (see pics) the rivets have pulled through the stringer in some places... on 2 stringers....

it also looks like some one has tried to repair it once before as there are some newer solid rivets in the same stringers.

if anyone has seen this and fixed it please let me know what and how you did it... as i am at a loss right now other than using some closed end rivets just to seal it and stop the leaks and continue repairs...

or use a bolt, washers, sealant and a nylon nut and loctite.....



bass

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

The foam sheets are the pink or blue construction sheet foam from Lowes/Home Depot.

 

[bassmanhb]

Re: 1993 sea nymph 175sc sidewinder leak repair

thanks EZ,

after i asked that i went back and was rereading your other reply and saw it

now any ideas on the stringer rivet problem ?


bass