Boat repair
 

Before I sell it for scrap, I'm trying to decide if it is worth repairing a rowboat I have, that was crumpled by a large tree falling on the bow. The boat was upside down near a cottonwood, when a foot diameter branch came down in a heavy wind. (Yeah, bad place to leave a boat, but there are a lot of cottonwood trees around here.) This left a large part bent in for about 2 feet back from the bow. Rivets popped. Folded in a foot deep.

If it was a small dent, I'd bang it out and repair the rivets. No problem there as I'm not looking for beauty, but there is a bit too much folding for that to work. Even a sledge won't pop it out. All I can think of is to build a heavy wooden frame around the boat that is shaped like the bow should be, then use a hydraulic bottle jack in some way to exert enough force on it to pop it back out, but I can spend more money on a heavy frame than the boat is worth in scrap value.

Any ideas? Whats the going price for scrap aluminum?

John

Boat repair
 

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Before I sell it for scrap, I'm trying to decide if it is worth repairing a
rowboat I have, that was crumpled by a large tree falling on the bow. The
boat was upside down near a cottonwood, when a foot diameter branch came
down in a heavy wind. (Yeah, bad place to leave a boat, but there are a lot
of cottonwood trees around here.) This left a large part bent in for about 2
feet back from the bow. Rivets popped. Folded in a foot deep.

If it was a small dent, I'd bang it out and repair the rivets. No problem
there as I'm not looking for beauty, but there is a bit too much folding for
that to work. Even a sledge won't pop it out. All I can think of is to build
a heavy wooden frame around the boat that is shaped like the bow should be,
then use a hydraulic bottle jack in some way to exert enough force on it to
pop it back out, but I can spend more money on a heavy frame than the boat
is worth in scrap value.

Any ideas? Whats the going price for scrap aluminum?

John

Can you post a pic?

Steve

Boat repair
 

John, I am literally in the same bo.. er, situation. I am considering drilling out enough rivets and attempting to straighten out each piece apart then re-assemble. My main concern is the top rail as it is an extrusion. I would love some pointers or pictures from anyone who has successfully done this.

Best of luck!!!
Jeff