Lund Repair?

[BSG]

I have a 1988 Lund Predator with a 2003 yamaha 50hp. Long story short, It's and aluminum boat, in really good condition on the inside, but it leaks. Right now, if I were to go fishing for 3 hours, and pull the plug at the landing, I would guess somewhere around 2-4 gallons would be in the boat. Nothing major, because I have a bilge pump, but its just annoying. I've filled the boat up with water before (from the inside) and looked for the leaks. The main rib running down the center of the boat seems to be the main culprit. I have tried some of the marine epoxy, and that stuff seems to work for a while, then it just leaks again.

So here's my question... Is it worth it to have someone weld on this thing? I'm sure Lund themselves will do it, but I live in Northwest metro and think there might be something closer. I'm eventually going to sell this boat, and don't want to have to tell someone that the boat leaks bad. Or do I just go and try some other junky remedies to fix this problem. Aka more epoxy / the aluminum puddy stuff???

Open to any Ideas. Thanks.

[Chris Haley]

Before going that extreme. Try moving your inlets for areators and such. Being an older boat they could have been replaced and are leaking. A 3 dollar tube of silicone might be all you need.

[ozzie]

there is always the boat repair place in Princeton...shipwrecks....they will look it over and replace any leaky rivets if that is your problem and they do it at a resonable cost

[JeffB]

It might be worth the drive to lund. They have a lifetime warrany on riveted seams. Don't have any welding done on it or it will void the hull warrany. I would guess a 2.5-3 hr drive to get it done right.

[trolloni]

BSG,whatever you do not weld on a riveted boat [any make] it will ruin em they will leak worse,the heat will swell the rivets ! rivets can be drilled out and replaced ,they get loose from boat flexing .

[lutzy]

Take the drive. Lifetime warranty...they will take care of you. Do it now before they get too busy.

[BSG]

Talked with someone up there yesterday. Didn't go as planned, that's for sure. She said it was looking like somewhere around 20+ hours of labor (pulling the floor up, welding keel, then re-riveting the hull etc). Which is worth more than the boat is. And they definitely didn't say anything about covering it for a lifetime warranty. But I don't really think i asked?

So do I just say, "hey look, its a lund... fix it" type deal? I'm sure there is some type of fine print i wont fit into....

[lutzy]

That sucks. I hope lund isn't like every other company and their "lifetime" warranty has all kind of fine print that doesn't really cover anything. I do know they say they have a lifetime hull warranty. What that means who knows. Good Luck.

[FM_Mike]

It may refer to the original owner. I know the warranty on my Crestliner is for most part is for the original owner.

Not sure with Lund though. Good luck and I hope things work out for you.

Mike

[Rick G]

quote=Chris Haley]Before going that extreme. Try moving your inlets for areators and such. Being an older boat they could have been replaced and are leaking. A 3 dollar tube of silicone might be all you need.

[CAMAN]

Talked with someone up there yesterday. Didn't go as planned, that's for sure. She said it was looking like somewhere around 20+ hours of labor (pulling the floor up, welding keel, then re-riveting the hull etc). Which is worth more than the boat is. And they definitely didn't say anything about covering it for a lifetime warranty. But I don't really think i asked?

So do I just say, "hey look, its a lund... fix it" type deal? I'm sure there is some type of fine print i wont fit into....

I'm sure they will fix the rivets/leak for free if you are the original owner, but almost positive they will charge every penny they can get to dismantle and reassemble the rest of the boat...which won't be cheap.

[blakeb]

lund's lifetime warranty is only on the transom i was once told by a dealer.

[BSG]

Brad, Chris might be on to something here. I pulled most of my hair out a couple years back trying to find the same type of leak you are talking about. I am a welder by trade so welding up the bottom channel where I thoght it was leaking was'nt a problem. Well after doing a superb job on the bottom channel the boat still leaked. Come to find out that that the silicone around my livewell pump was the culprit.

I thought that myself last year. But here's what I observed.

My boat was completely dry. Hadn't been in the water in months. I first Parked the boat on a flat plain (or close to anyways). Put the plug in, then put a garden hose with a steady, not wide open stream of water in at the back of the boat, basically directly under the splashtray. Then began waiting with a black sharpie to mark the problem areas. Long story short, I had like roughly 10 rivets that leaked (look at picture now) All the rivets that leaked were right in the area of where "spartan" is back to the main keel that runs down the center. Then after letting the boat fill up alot, I mean, there was almost water coming through the carpet in the back. I stood back and assessed the situation. The rivets were definitely not as bad as the keel was. Right at the front of the keel (just to the right of where it says spartan) there is a seam where it was riveted/welded together. And those rivets seem to be pulled through the metal, and not actually doing anything.

And since I bought this boat from my uncle, I guess I'm not the original owner. And I'm not going to get bent over. Like I said, the leak doesn't mean the end of the world, just something as a boat owner I'd like to take care of. So, last year I used some marine epoxy on the rivets, and it seemed to work. Now I'll just go buy some more and go to town on the keel. Heck, maybe I'll even report back??

In the mean time, Thanks guys for all the replies. And let me know if you have any other ideas/suggestions.