Aluminum Boat Restoration

The old aluminum boat looked as if it was ready for the recycle bin. It was full of dirt and leaves and the outside of the hull was covered with some type of black corrosion.A quick rinse with the hose cleaned most of the dirt and leaves from inside the hull but the outside of the hull was still a mottled back and gray.

It is a 10 foot aluminum jon boat that I purchased used in the late 1970's, I can't even remember the exact year. I had used the boat for fly fishing in small ponds and carried it in the bed of my pick-up truck. When I grew tried of the boat I gave it to my father for 'safe keeping.' It stayed with him for many years, he used it a little, but mostly it stayed in his back yard next to the shed. It had developed a bad leak around one of the floor ribs and he had it repaired with an over-sized aluminum bar. It might have been 'pond worthy' but it was more of eye sore than a boat. When he moved to an assisted living facility I inherited the little boat again.

I hauled the boat half way across the sate and kept it on the top of an unused grape arbor. There it continued to collect dirt, leaves and corrosion for several more years until I decided that I needed something to paddle around in on the local ponds.

But, is the old boat worth saving...

The jon boat was only worth saving if the cost getting the boat 'pond worthy' was less than the price of another boat. I needed to find out what all was broken or missing, and to what extent it needed repair or replacement.

Just getting the jon boat down from the grape arbor was exciting. When I pulled the boat down I was showered with dirt, leaves, pine needles, and little bits of Styrofoam. Dirt I could understand but where did the leaves and pine needles come from? The boat had been upside down for years and not open to falling leaves and pine needles. And who would put pieces of Styrofoam in an old jon boat?

I hosed down the inside and outside of the boat and made a few discoveries. Under one of the seats was the remains of an abandoned bird nest. Ah-ha; the leaves and pine needles were placed there by birds! As I sprayed the water under a seat more and more Styrofoam balls came out with the water! The flotation material under the seats had deteriorated and was falling apart. Mysteries solved!

Making a quick inspection of the jon boat I noted the following problems:

• Flotation material under the seats needed replacement
• Two handles on the stern were missing
• Motor mount reinforcement was missing in the stern
• The repaired floor rib did not look water tight
• The hull exterior had some type of black corrosion

The first three items would involve some expense so I decided to start with the last two. I could check for leaks and clean the corrosion without having to make any purchases, or so I thought...

The first question that needed answering was 'does it leak?' If it would fill up with water then it would not be safe for any sized pond, and the cost of repairs might exceed the value of the boat. (At this time the value of the boat was very low.)

I didn't want to try the boat in a pond for two reasons:

• Using the boat in the water it is not the best way to check for leaks (safety first)
• The boat looked horrible and I didn't want to be seen in it. (vanity, a very close second)

I needed to determine if the hull was sound or would it allow water to leak in. The safest approach was to fill the boat with water and see if any water would leak out!

I put the jon boat on an outdoor table and filled the hull with water, almost up to the waterline. No major leaks! But I could see a small amount of water dripping off the table top.

After the boat was drained I matched the location of the water on the table top to the hull and found a small crack around one of the repair job welds. Should be an easy and inexpensive repair.

So far, so good, with the safety issue taken care of it was now time to address my pride...

So far, so good, with the safety issue taken care of it was now time to address my vanity...

Cleaning the corrosion would at least make the jon boat look presentable. Once it was cleaned I could take a test run in the local pond and make sure everything else was okay.

I put the jon boat on two saw horses and started my cleaning. I knew it would take more than just water but I didn't want to use any abrasive cleaners on the thin aluminum. My first choice was a concentrated car wash, no help there. The corrosion would not budge.

I looked for other 'heavy duty' cleaning products that were non-abrasive, most had warnings not to use on aluminum. Then I had a brilliant idea...aluminum wheel cleaner...I stopped by the auto parts store and had several to choose from. I read the labels of all the products they had for cleaning aluminum wheels and made a scientific choice, I bought the one on sale!

Following the directions, I sprayed the cleaner on the boat, scrubbed using a stiff bristled brush, and then rinsed. Wow...it actually cleaned the most of corrosion. Spray again, scrub again, rinse,and more corrosion was disappearing. There was still some corrosion deep in the grains of the aluminum but it could be removed with plenty of elbow grease.

At this rate I would need about 3 or 4 more bottles of cleaner, there had to be a better way...

There was nothing wrong with the Aluminum Wheel Cleaner from the auto parts store, it just wasn't made for this type of cleaning. I thought about the problem for several days before another option popped into my head, bleach! Bleach is an all purpose cleaner and it was worth a try.

Just a cup full to start and I couldn't believe the results! I used the bleach full-strength and it cleaned the corrosion as if it was a light coat of dust.

Using the full strength bleach I was able to get the old aluminum hull looking bright and clean. I used rubber gloves and an old rag to apply the bleach. With a little rubbing (very little elbow grease) I was able to clean the complete hull. A quick rinse with the hose and I was ready to give the old boat a try out in the local pond.

A Word of Warning: If you are using full strength bleach for cleaning you need to have on old work clothes that won't look bad with bleached out splotches.

I took the old, but shinny, aluminum boat to a pond here in the neighborhood for a quick paddle around. The boat does have a small leak on the bottom but it is a small crack that can be repaired easily.

I made up my mind to keep the boat and do some restoration work that will extend the life of the boat for many years. Here are the steps I will be taking for the complete restoration and I plan to keep track of the work and progress with several more Hub pages.

Finishing the restoration:

• Replace flotation material under the seats
• Paint, both primer and a top coat
• Replace missing motor mount & other hardware

Please take a moment to add your comments, or let me hear about your experiences with aluminum boat restoration.