help understanding of loose rivet. and crack in aluminum rib

[pie fisher]

I have a 18ft blufin. fell through the floor getting it out of storage last week so I tore the floor out. though I would take care of those pesky rivets that leak. doing research on this I found guys that like to completely replace leaking rivets, tighten and seal rivet with coat it or gluvit. or a guy I was talking with said he did not tighten his rivets he just put the coat it epoxy on his.

​I am a contractor and this sounds a little fishy to me. could someone help me understand what option will work best in my case
​ my questions.
​ 1. if the rivet is leaking is it loose or just broke the bond it had?
​2. if I cover rivet with epoxy how can rivet then move so is just coating it sufficient?
3. at what point is do I need to drill out and replace the rivet?
​4. is there another way to find leaking rivet besides flooding or floating boat?

​I also noticed I have a crack in a rib. the crack is about 6" long and the rib runs from the bow along the bottom of the side wall to the transom. how can I fix this?
​the crack spits out water so I know it is through the aluminum. did this take the structure out of the boat ? I will post a picture of where it is so you can have a better idea.

​thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GA_Boater]

If a rivet which is firmly clamped with a metal to metal bond when set, how can epoxy fix that bond? It can't and is only a temporary fix until the epoxy fractures. It's possible the reason isn't a loose rivet, but a corroded rivet.

Looking at the stains in the 1st pic, you have a lot of bad/loose rivets

What you can try is reset the rivet if it isn't corroded, but the best cure is replacement.

A rib isn't cracked, the chine is cracked. There are fixes for the cracked chine and it includes adding reinforcement plates. I'll let the guys who've done it comment.

 

[pie fisher]

what is functional difference between a rib and a chine? how invasive is it?

thanks for the wisdom on rivets I was hoping I didn't have to replace the rivets but what has to be done has to be done.


is this hull a lost cause? I don't weld at all. and the cost of new floor, rivets, rivet gun, and now the chine repair. added with sell of motor, kicker, and other gadgets. would I be best to cut and run with newer boat?

 

[GA_Boater]

Ribs are inside and run from side to side. I don't know what you mean by invasive.

I didn't mention a couple of things we use for sealing rivets after resetting or replacement. Gluvit and Coat-It are epoxy based and are applied inside to coat the metal to metal bond. A little extra insurance.

Also we coat rivets with 3M 5200 sealant before setting, again to add sealing to the joint.


Your boat is a clone of many Starcraft aluminum boats. Take a look at some of the resto threads in that forum by clicking on the link in the sig below.

Should you drop this one and find another boat? No way can I offer any advice based on two photos.