Fixing a SMASHED Aluminum Gunnel and Rub Rail

[GeoFisher]

Well, It looks like I found a place........it ain't cheap.

Also, it seems that extruded aluminum for making the gunnel is available from Tracker Marine, so the place I'm talking with will pull the top plate, pull the rod boxes, remove the foam, beat the hell out of that dent..........fix the bent stringers........

they think there is a stringer RIGHT there that is in trouble, but they cannot tell until they pull the top plate.

Once they do all that stuff, they will also check / reweld the welds, as they do look suspect.

After the boat work is done, they will cut the gunnel out, and weld in a replacement piece.......

Then new rubrail...........

All for a very serious price ......but hey, my insurance didn't balk yet, so there is hope.

I'm hoping to have it all on the water in a month.....we shall see.

[Les Young]

Glad you're ok & good luck on the fix.

[stripernut1]

glad you found a place that might be able to fix it. after asking around i found a couple different guys that "sometimes" do that type of work and they said it could be up to a year before they could get to it.....translation: NOT INTERESTED....at least that what i translate that to.
best of luck, it hurts when our baby is not well

[PRO V LE]

I just saw this thread, If this hull has full coverage it would be totaled and replaced with no questions asked by my Insurance co.

[GeoFisher]

I just saw this thread, If this hull has full coverage it would be totaled and replaced with no questions asked by my Insurance co.

I have full replacement insurance..........and the total cost is way, WAY, WAY MORE then the repair cost..... I get what you're saying, but the repair is 1/4 the total cost.......

Actually prob more like 1/2 as prob 8k of my insured value is the motor........

IF they had totaled this at 8-10k I would have taken the cash and probably been done fishing....I'm not interested right now in buying a new boat......other things.

As it is, I will spend the thousands of dollars of INSURANCE money getting it fixed, and if I"m happy with that, I will have them do the carpets, and if happy with that, have them do a motor swap.........

We shall see.

Later,

Geo

[GeoFisher]

glad you found a place that might be able to fix it. after asking around i found a couple different guys that "sometimes" do that type of work and they said it could be up to a year before they could get to it.....translation: NOT INTERESTED....at least that what i translate that to.
best of luck, it hurts when our baby is not well

I found a salvage place in Indiana that does that work all the time..........they had pic and examples of their work......Having them do it.

[GeoFisher]

I found a company.......ended up over there yesterday.

They are doing a fantastic job........and I will definitely be recommending them for this and other types of work.

Here are a couple pics:



Jeremy , the guy doing the work told me I was lucky I hit it exactly where I did. The supports and the cross members for the rod lockers, and all that structure actually kept the boat from buckling in more.

He was able to knock the dent out, straighten the rail, and fix all the welds on the bottom, as well as re-weld all the stringers.

LOTS and LOTS of internal damage, that would never seen at first.........

He asked me if I wanted to see the work before they buttoned it all up.........I didn't take pics yesterday, but he's including more.....

When I get the rest, I will share here.

Bottom line.....I believe he's doing a GREAT job.

[Moveon]

I found a company.......ended up over there yesterday.

They are doing a fantastic job........and I will definitely be recommending them for this and other types of work.

Here are a couple pics:



Jeremy , the guy doing the work told me I was lucky I hit it exactly where I did. The supports and the cross members for the rod lockers, and all that structure actually kept the boat from buckling in more.

He was able to knock the dent out, straighten the rail, and fix all the welds on the bottom, as well as re-weld all the stringers.

LOTS and LOTS of internal damage, that would never seen at first.........

He asked me if I wanted to see the work before they buttoned it all up.........I didn't take pics yesterday, but he's including more.....

When I get the rest, I will share here.

Bottom line.....I believe he's doing a GREAT job.

Now that type of accident is scary. Was it at night or early morning? Foggy? Those GPS map coordinates are not always as accurate as we would like anyway. The accuracy on most of the GPS units is only plus or minus 3 meters at best and can be as bad as plus or minus 10 meters. 3 ft to a meter approximately. And the bouys are moved at times so these digial maps may not show them in the right spot. Looks like they are doing a great job on fixing your aluminum boat.

I almost lost my boat on Patoka Lake back in 1983 when a seam on the front bottom port side of my boat ripped open about 3" long and 1/16" wide. The weld broke or else the bottom of the boat hit a submerged tree. We I was moving the water could not get into the hole as the front of my boat was nose up and the bow was out of the water.

I was fishing with a friend and he was in the back when we stopped to fish. He asked me (I had stopped the boat and jumped up on the front of the boat to get the trolling motor depoyed) if water was suppose to be in the back of the floor where he was sitting. I turned around to look at the back of the boat and water was 2" deep over the floor carpet and I freaked out. I ran back to the back and started the motor and took off. I orded him to go sit at the front of the boat so that more weight would be up front so that I could get the boat trimmed level. I had so much water in the back of the boat that the bow would not sit down and I was giving it all the gas I could. I finally had to reach back to pull the plugs and finally the water flowed out the plugs and the bow came down. We raced a mile back the the main launch ramp and I let him out to go get the boat trailer. I ran around in circles keeping the boat moving and the water out of the boat until I could shoot the boat up onto the boat trailer and pull it out of the water. As we got to the parking lot I found the crack in the weld and knew we were lucky to have saved the boat. I only had to take the boat to a welder and he welded the crack shut and I was good to go. My boat had floation under the bench seat and the side walls so I'm not sure if it would have floated or sunk. Not wanting to find out. I don't want to lose the boat or the motor. And I didn't have any insurance on the boat then.

[GeoFisher]

Now that type of accident is scary. Was it at night or early morning? Foggy? Those GPS map coordinates are not always as accurate as we would like anyway. The accuracy on most of the GPS units is only plus or minus 3 meters at best and can be as bad as plus or minus 10 meters. 3 ft to a meter approximately. And the bouys are moved at times so these digial maps may not show them in the right spot. Looks like they are doing a great job on fixing your aluminum boat.

I almost lost my boat on Patoka Lake back in 1983 when a seam on the front bottom port side of my boat ripped open about 3" long and 1/16" wide. The weld broke or else the bottom of the boat hit a submerged tree. We I was moving the water could not get into the hole as the front of my boat was nose up and the bow was out of the water.

I was fishing with a friend and he was in the back when we stopped to fish. He asked me (I had stopped the boat and jumped up on the front of the boat to get the trolling motor depoyed) if water was suppose to be in the back of the floor where he was sitting. I turned around to look at the back of the boat and water was 2" deep over the floor carpet and I freaked out. I ran back to the back and started the motor and took off. I orded him to go sit at the front of the boat so that more weight would be up front so that I could get the boat trimmed level. I had so much water in the back of the boat that the bow would not sit down and I was giving it all the gas I could. I finally had to reach back to pull the plugs and finally the water flowed out the plugs and the bow came down. We raced a mile back the the main launch ramp and I let him out to go get the boat trailer. I ran around in circles keeping the boat moving and the water out of the boat until I could shoot the boat up onto the boat trailer and pull it out of the water. As we got to the parking lot I found the crack in the weld and knew we were lucky to have saved the boat. I only had to take the boat to a welder and he welded the crack shut and I was good to go. My boat had floation under the bench seat and the side walls so I'm not sure if it would have floated or sunk. Not wanting to find out. I don't want to lose the boat or the motor. And I didn't have any insurance on the boat then.

A couple details......

I was not really running on GPS. I was using it to check where I was, but to be honest I knew where I was. It was on, but I rarely use it for running and never rely on it for the markers.......the Markers move. BUT in this case, the marker didn't move....It was NEVER there before. This is a new marker, within the past half year or so. I've been through that exact path hundreds of times. I double checked with my finder, and where I was, and my speed, and whatever.......

I was going 16mph. I was on a common track I've been on. The buoy is in a shadow of the new bridge, and the lights on the new bridge totally night blinded me.....not completely but enough. By the time I saw the buoy I was on top of it.

Barely hit it, but it was enough to do serious damage......Serious........

All Told, it was 6,000 in damage. All covered by my insurance minus 500 bucks.

[GeoFisher]

Some final pics.........These guys did such a nice job, I'm going to have them do carpet and some repainting and finish work for me later...