Raft Removal Need Help

[dennis porter]

We are pulling the Raft out (Again!!!) June 2nd Wednesday at 6pm. As usual it should not take long to pull it up to the creek bank. We will be locking it and hope it stays put until we fix it. Please help if you can.

Thanks,
Dennis.

[qheuie]

I'll be there.

[Mike P]

I'll try and be there.

[qheuie]

The raft is out of the water and locked to a tree. PLEASE do not try to launch the raft, one of the floats still leaks and it will fill up fast when in the water.

Fortunately, the boardwalk on the downed trees to the south is in very good shape and makes for an easy crossing... as long as the water doesn't rise much.

As for the raft, we need to assess the damage and come up with a long term fix for the leak(s). No ETA at this point.

[PHRANQUY]

Josh, is the location of the leak known?

[dennis porter]

Does anyone have a connection to a marine or boat dealer that may be able to help us out on repairing the Raft?

Thanks,
Dennis.

[Josh K]

I don't have a connection to a boat service center, but what is the hull made of? I've done a lot of fiberglass work and can weld up alu and steel.

[tedsti]

How big are the holes in the pontoons? What about something like this?
http://www.alumiweld.com/

I believe I have some at home that I have not tried yet.

[dennis porter]

We have tried patching and it didn't work. The wear and tear from going back and forth from the creek banks it not good for the pontoons. I have heard that there is a closed cell foam that is used to fix pontoon boats. I am hoping somebody knows somebody that may be able to help us out. Let us know.

[phaberman1]

My family filled up our old pontoon with some styrofoam like spray in stuff when I was a kid. It worked great. Unfortunaltely, I do not know where to find that type of service around the metro area, but it does work.

[bigwheel]

I've bought that kind of stuff from IASCO-TESCO. They are off of hwy 100, near Hoiggards. They have all kinds of 2-part expanding foams, and probably also have what you'd need to do a non-welding repair to the aluminum. The 2-part foam I used several years ago for some canoe flotation/fill was only 2 pounds per cubic ft. Very lightweight, but expensive and toxic. They also have some cheaper (and "greener") foams that IIRC are around 5 pounds/cubic foot.

Unfortunately, their web site seems to be down now, but it's worth giving them a call. They have just about everything you can think of for "that kind of stuff".

http://www.iasco-tesco.com/

Address
5724 West 36th Street
Minneapolis, MN
55416
United States

Telephone, fax
Tel: 888 919 0899

[danomyte]

We have tried patching and it didn't work. The wear and tear from going back and forth from the creek banks it not good for the pontoons. I have heard that there is a closed cell foam that is used to fix pontoon boats. I am hoping somebody knows somebody that may be able to help us out. Let us know.

Closed cell foam is a good idea. But if it's wear and tear from landing on the banks, maybe we could put some sort of bumpers on it to minimize the impact on the floats.

[Don Youngdahl]

.............. but what is the hull made of? I've done a lot of fiberglass work and can weld up alu and steel.

I vowed that I was taking a sabbatical from the raft, but can't resist chiming in with some hopefully helpfull comments.

The hull is aluminum, and the leak is unfortunately in a welded seam at the exact spot where the raft bumps the steps, which is likely why my epoxy repair did not hold up. The root cause of the leak appeared to be an inclusion in a seam weld, which perhaps failed due to it's location where it takes abuse from bumping the steps.

I think a welded repair is the best long term solution, although getting the raft to the river, then to the landing & to a shop & back again is a big undertaking. If someone with good welding skills, and the right weld procedure for this application, had a portable welder & generator (if needed) that they could bring in & do the job on site, that might be the least overall work.