Boat taking on water

[sparky27]

I noticed my boat has been taking in some water lately. I got under the boat and trailer and found three seperate cracks in the hull. Need advice on how to proceed. It's an aluminum boat. Would marine grade jb weld work? Take it to a welder? Any boat guys on this site do these kind of repairs at yourshops?

[delcecchi]

Tell us about the boat. How old? What motor? Three cracks? Some companies at some points in time had lifetime warranty on hull, Crestliner comes to mind. I'm not sure about the fine print however.

[sparky27]

It's a 06 17 foot tracker with Center console 115 merc. Yes it has three cracks all between an inch and five inches long. Could slide a piece of Paper through two of the cracks.

[sparky27]

[delcecchi]

Ouch! And I just looked up Tracker warranty. I think you are SOL on that.

I can think of some ways to fix it but I don't really have enough knowledge to say if they would work. You could try the "drill a hole at the ends of the cracks to stop propagation and then slather with jb weld" but I really have no assurance that it would do the job. Only advantage is quick and cheap.

I'll leave the giving of real advice to those who know.

[tacklejunkie]

Cabelas has an aluminum boat patch kit.

Many years ago, we hit a rock going down rapids in my buddy's canoe and smacked into a rock and put a gash into it. He called around and found someone to fix it. Besides cosmetically different, it held up for many years after he had it patched.

If memory serves, he found a welder who patched on a new aluminum patch. You can still see the patching on his canoe and that was back in the mid 1980's this happened

[theiceman]

I would give tracker a call or a tracker dealer there might be something they can do for you at a reasonable price or find out what aluminum welder and have it fixed that way. And do you strap your boat down on the trailer because my looking of those that's where they sit on rollers if I had to guess right.

[Esox_Magnum]

Common issue with Trackers welded hulls. My buddy's 05 split from bow to stern. Took an act of Congress to get them to stand behind it... call corporate and see what they will do. If they agree to fix it you will have to deliver and pick it up in Springfield MO.....

[delcecchi]

I noticed when looking at the Tracker Warranty that they warranty the welds differently than the hull. I thought that was a little strange....

[Surface Tension]

I'd contact Tracker and see what your options are. The splits might get blamed on bunks or rollers, unfortunately your not the only Tracker owner with the same problem and you'll probably find broken welds on the sub-structure, along with the need of reinforcement to it.

So the issue of why its cracking has to be addressed otherwise if you have it welded it'll crack again.

[Down Deep]

No matter what Tracker or the dealer does get this welded by a pro and someone who has knowledge to inspect the rest of the hull to determine it there are other weak spots. These look like stress cracks and they are likely to get bigger. I wouldn't trust this repair to a bottle patch job. There are several welders who work on boats in MN.

[B-man715]

No matter what Tracker or the dealer does get this welded by a pro and someone who has knowledge to inspect the rest of the hull to determine it there are other weak spots. These look like stress cracks and they are likely to get bigger. I wouldn't trust this repair to a bottle patch job. There are several welders who work on boats in MN.

Speaking of that, it might be worth your time to get your insurance company involved (depending on estimated repair costs).

[leech~~]

No matter what Tracker or the dealer does get this welded by a pro and someone who has knowledge to inspect the rest of the hull to determine it there are other weak spots. These look like stress cracks and they are likely to get bigger. I wouldn't trust this repair to a bottle patch job. There are several welders who work on boats in MN.

Plus + 1 get it fixed right. I would hate to be out in the middle of a big lake and have the little glue patchs "pop" off!

[CaptainMusky]

X2 on the insurance route. I have a sinking feeling that Tracker will not do what they should for you here and involving an insurance company could lead to A) them paying for repairs/replacement or needling Tracker to fix it or reimburse you because they have attorneys that are relentless.

Many times your insurance company will cover the costs then go after the responsible party.

Good Luck, but that is usually a sign of something far more serious which would require a real professional repair job versus just a patch.

[ribsey_77]

Had something similar happen to my '89 170 alumacraft trophy. They reason for my cracks where from the trailer rollers. To much bouncing traveling down the road. I added a ratchet strap to the front eye straight down to help combat this happening more. The FIL brought the boat to the factory to weld it up and within three years the patched welds cracked so I ground off the weld and applied JB Weld and just check it occasionally.

[SkunkedAgain]

My old boat got a 4" gash in the hull alongside the keel, from crashing through big waves. That was during my honeymoon. We got it on the trailer and had it welded the next day. I never had a drop of water after that.

[sparky27]

Thanks for help/advice. Doesn't sound like a fun problem I have. The boat sits on bunks. The bigger cracks are a couple feet in front of the bunks, so I don't believe that caused the problem. If anyone has any experience with a welder who has a good reputation and who has worked on boats before, maybe you could point me in their direction.

[delcecchi]

I think the suggestion to look on the inside of the boat, if that is in any way possible, to see if something is broken in there is a good one. Maybe you could rent one of those fiber optic inspection cameras. I have seen the little ones by Milwaukee at fleet farm, but I bet better ones can be rented. A little hole or getting a floor panel up a little bit would be all that was needed.

[Esox_Magnum]

When Tracker re welded my buddy's they gutted the boat and welded both inside and outside. Another had the weld fail on the transom was well out of warranty the local welding shops wanted 2500 or more to fix...

[Down Deep]

Add me to the list in favor of making an insurance claim. Insurance will not pay for a manufacturing defect, but it should cover damage done trailering, striking an object, dropping on pavement, wave pounding damage, collision, vandalism, etc.

[SkunkedAgain]

If anyone has any experience with a welder who has a good reputation and who has worked on boats before, maybe you could point me in their direction.

Mine was fixed at a local shop near Lake Vermilion, and that guy no longer runs the business. Sorry

[mwal]

The only real way to know what caused your cracks is to take your floor out and gut the boat. Do anything else is waste of time unless it still is under warranty. You have to find the root cause of the stress. You can guess all you want but until you can see if your stringers are not cracked or loose its all a guess. The only other alternative is the insurance route. Any other repair is only a guess and if you fish big water or a powerful river it could be life threatening. Is your life worth guessing and squirting some epoxy on those cracks? Some of the Tracker welded hulls do not have to good of a track record.

Mwal