lund pike 17...three rivets leak slightly...big problem?

I noticed after it rained and my boat wasn't covered that there was a "drip, drip, drip" coming from the front centerline. Turns out three rivets appeared to be letting water out of the boat. None of the leaks was more than the finest thread of water, and together they accounted for maybe a drop every five seconds.

Should I be worried? Is this something that I need to address immediately? We just had the boat in the water for an entire week and I never noticed it filling up, though with the rain, I was running the bilge every other day anyway.

Thanks for advice.

Gator

[HodakaD]

If you can get to the rivets from the inside of the hull, have somebody hold a metal block or sledgehammer on the leaky rivet and then whack the rivet with a hammer on the outside of the hull. This will cause the aluminum rivet to squish a little and seal your leak. I have done this on an old Alumacraft and it worked great. Make sure you have the rivet blocked though.

[mdoehling]

Get it to a dealer, Lund has a lifetime warantee on all rivets. I'd get it fixed in the off season. no sweat off your back and the problem fixed.

Try to jack up the jack on the trailer tongue to its highest setting and see if it still leaks there. I had the same problem, and it turned out water was coming out of the open drain plug, running downhill along the keel and dripping off the lowest point on the keel. Turned out to just be the way the trailer was sitting with the jack lowered.

Thanks for the info...I did jack up the tongue, but the water was pretty clearly coming out of three individual rivets...it left a "snail trail" on the bottom of the boat.

I'll have to give Lund a call in the off season, but I'm in Rochester, New York, and I'm not sure whether the local dealers do repairs. Guess I'll find out.

I don't think I can get to the rivets on the inside of the hull very easily, but I'll look.

Thanks again.

[staylor]

I'm down in Buffalo and this happens now and then to the rigs out on Lake Erie. A quick fix involves a tube of superglue bought just about anywhere. Get the thin "original" superglue- not the gel.Leave the rig on the trailer with the bow high enough so that any water in the bilge is away from the leaky rivets. Dry the rivets that leak with a paper towel to make sure you've wicked out all the water you can. Wipe the rivets with isoprophyl alcohol and let this dry for 2 hours. Dry the rivets one more time, then feed a drop of superglue into the seam between the rivet head and the hull on the outside. If this wicks in, feed another drop. Do this to each rivet and repeat every 2 hours until the superglue just starts to build up on the seam, meaning that you've plugged the seam. Sometimes this will fix the leak permanently, sometimes not. In any event, it stops the leak until you can get a professional repair.
Doug

[T Mac]

Should I be worried? Is this something that I need to address immediately? We just had the boat in the water for an entire week and I never noticed it filling up, though with the rain, I was running the bilge every other day anyway.

Thanks for advice.

Gator[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't be.
I have a question, ...
Were the drops coming from rivets located on the center keel?

Hey T-Mac,

No, the leaks were in three rivets that were in line, one above the other, on the right side, just above the keel. Educate me...why does this matter? Thanks!

Keith

[T Mac]

When the keel leaks... it is tougher to fix...as the weld protected by the keel extrusion, has cracked.

I wouldn't worry much about what you have.
You'll spill more in the boat than that.

Different brand of boat but I had 50+ leakers replaced this year. Should have done something a few yrs sooner but didn't want the down time and it worked out. Most/many were leaking for at least several years, some for over 5. So - I personally wouldn't be too concerned about 3 leakers ...

However, I think it might be good to understand what is going on. Generally, the hull flexes and eventually some rivets loosen. Once they loosen, the hole is only going to get larger as the rivet continues to move under stress. Since they can move more, it stresses other rivets just a little more...

If it can be fixed right during the off season under warranty, go for it. To buck them or maybe better yet replace them with one size larger you will likely need to pull the front deck, storage compartments/livewell (whatever is up there) and the floor section under that. If there is a livewell, it may be the major pain. Maybe have to yank the console & the "step up" board at the rear of the deck. Lotta work for 3 rivets.

A shop will be happy to buck a few rivets, they aren't as excited about tearing everything down to get too them.

The superglue idea is interesting.

Good Luck