Aluminum Michicraft Project

@Overstreet said:
If the rivets leak there are options. However for a southern redneck play around fishing boat Flexseal products can’t be beat for fast repairs.
https://www.flexsealproducts.com/shop/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwguDeBRDCARIsAGxuU8a2TTt-CoFs0otjPgpCKsLgK0OivnB-ZTMwgA3wiPss6ytEJYKqxrcaAl-hEALw_wcB

I gave the neighbor an old fiberglass canoe and he Flexseal 'ed it and uses it in his farm in the pond to fish from.

That’s exactly what my US Marine brother recommended!

@Sparky961 said:
That’s what those “throw pillow” style flotation cushions (of the same era, I’m sure) were for.

Since they might be hard to find, get yourself some Minicel foam and figure out a creative way to attach it (duct tape?).

Look what I found :smiley:

https://walmart.com/ip/Stearns-Utility-Boat-Cushion/23895113

Re Flexseal - I want to hate it because it is one of those late night TV items. But I ended up trying it on my roof three yrs ago to patch a potential leak. City rubber roof, happily tilted not flat. I had a tiny leak that happened one time when the tail end of a hurricane came thru with a good bit of oomph left. No other time even with a snow load so I knew it was a pretty tiny opportunity. I figured if I got something on it before it turned major I could stave off the big job. I went up with both the spray and a roll of patch material and used both generously while I was there.

Not a drop since then. And there were a few places that were vulnerable to beginning leaks as time went on, where the seal on the edges of a piece of rubber was looking a little dry.

It is heavy so probably not the best plan for a boat restoration. But the stuff does work.

Comes in different colors too.


This is a canoe that i might think twice about resurrecting. Flooding, Mt. Holly, NJ, 2004.

To the workshop!

Hey Schuylkill, it’s always nice to see a canoe getting some love, especially a brave canoe like yours that took a hit from a tree while waiting for you outside and never complaining.

Regarding seat pads, flotation cushions may be a bit thick…they will raise your seating position. You might look for a hunter’s seat pad like shown in the pic or a stadium seating pad like the one on the link. Cheap and comfy.

If you get the chance I think you’d really enjoy meeting Carl from Carl’s Paddlin in Lone Rock Wisconsin. Carl has hundreds of canoes including lots of very well used boats that he has rescued that others might think are past their useful life.

https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/caravan-sports-stadium-seat-cushion-18crvustdmstcshnxodr/18crvustdmstcshnxodr?camp=CSE:DSG_pg1051002067_ecom_PLA_452&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0a3u_uW63gIVxrrACh2vUQj1EAQYByABEgIXKPD_BwE

When you get ready to float it again post a pic on the “Show off your boat…” thread.

@TomL I shall look into those! Thanks!

@Waterbearer it could happen.

Progress. All of the sheet metal is facing the right direction now.



Next, work on straightening the top edge and then massage out two large buckles, highlighted with the green lines.

Now that you have converted the peanut gallery to shop lackeys would minicell workshop flooring be thick enough to pad out those alu ( and hot ) seats?

Flooring has a smooth side and a non slide side

You can find it at a home improvement store. About 20 bucks for 16 square feet
Too much i know but use the extra for cooler lining . Dont spoil the fish!

@kayamedic said:
Now that you have converted the peanut gallery to shop lackeys

:smiley: Did I do that?

would minicell workshop flooring be thick enough to pad out those alu ( and hot ) seats?

Flooring has a smooth side and a non slide side

You can find it at a home improvement store. About 20 bucks for 16 square feet
Too much i know but use the extra for cooler lining . Dont spoil the fish!

Hmm, Harbor Freight has stuff like that for a lot less than $20. That sounds like an awesome idea! They even have some with a diamond plate pattern that would fit the personality of this boat!

More progress. Almost un-crunched!


I keep thinking about what @Celia, @Overstreet and my Marine brother were saying about Flex Seal. I think I have to remove the other deck, check for mouse condominiums in the foam, remove as much of the schmutz (Pennsylvania Dutch word meaning, grease, mud, goop, etc.) as I can that the previous owner applied to the seams and then seal everything up with Flex Seal.

I would use some pour in place foam for the floatation. But it’s a little pricy.

Shop floor…mine is black and dark grey…no no not for seats. I have a kayak with black seats…ouch…unpleasant after lunch in summer. . Perhaps with closed cell insulation. Glued to the seat? Seadeck is best but that $$$ thing again.

Some of those chemically-produced foam materials are very prone to absorbing water, so that’s something to check before picking a brand. Otherwise, the “cheap kind” of Styrofoam, which is made from pressed polystyrene beads (like those cheap white coolers you can pick up in almost any kind of store for next to nothing) seems to the be standard small-boat flotation material, and I’ve never seen the stuff get waterlogged. I don’t know where to buy the stuff in blocks, but you could just stack properly-trimmed sheets of it in the float chambers.

The stock foam is mostly OK, but for a mouse house. I’ll be using the original foam with Great Stuff to fill in any mouse condos.

I had heard that Great Stuff was one of the foam products that is prone to absorbing water, but I don’t know that for sure. I guess for short periods of immersion the risk of waterlogging probably isn’t all that high.

I’d be using such a small amount, I can’t imagine that it would be any problem. However, since the white foam panels are available pretty inexpensively, I could just cut that to fit and glue it in place with waterproof glue.

You don’t want anything that flakes off, styrafoam, or holds water and gives a wet bottom.

That’s why this stuff is so good for it. It comes in as much as 1".

http://www.seadek.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA8f_eBRDcARIsAEKwRGcfszKdHVqoSNHUQC9XHHzHS9irdt7RIscHhB3gwmDlBeX-Km2G7wEaAoxWEALw_wcB

Of course Qruiser usually sits on a garden kneeling pad in (or is it on?) the canoe.