Boats & Motors
cracked keel
Yeah old post but I concur, welding the crack wouldn’t be a permanent fix it will likely crack again at the base of the weld. The rods previously mentioned are called alumalloy, they work like brazing and use less heat than TIG welding. They used to have an infomercial on tv using them to fix all sorts of things. Different scenario but I welded a Jon boat for a guy where the ribs were worn through from dragging the boat on ground, that was about 5 years ago and still no leaks but that’s not the same as a stress crack.
Yes , I agree the cheapest and easiest method to repair the aluminum keel is to weld it. Rather than just welding the crack which was mostly due to wear I bent a piece of aluminum and welded it to the keel. This also reinforced it. Fellow tells me he still has the boat and no leaks. His keel is mostly worn out from dragging it on the shore. Hope this helps.