Quick aluminum gunnel repair?

[JeffOYB]

I have a hand-me-down big ol' Minn 3 kevlar canoe. The mid-section of the gunnel on each side is broken thru and bent a bit. Looks like a side impact -- one side shoved in the other side shoved out, thanks to the thwart. There are also slices thru the hull. I'm going to be doing serviceable jiffy patches for the whole thing to make a casual watercraft. I want to patch the gunnels so they don't cut people's hands if they grab there. That's about all I want. Yeah, it would also be nice if the gunnel got stiff again across the break. Right now I'm thinking that a blob of PC-7 epoxy smoothed across the vicinity might do the trick. But somebody here might have an awesome idea. When I googled the subject I found all sorts of info on replacing gunnels. Nope. Well, ya got something? Thanks!

 

[Sven]

Have you considered finding a welding shop that would TIG weld a nice bead in there? Might require removal, but probably yield the strongest repair...
just a thought

 

[yellowcanoe]

you don't want to get involved in alu gunwale replacement.. We bent one severely and had it replaced as bent is the same as broken as far as alu gunwales. It was pricey. I think Sven has a good idea

Does this look feasible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAjeSa6CqI Looks inexpensive. Have absolutely no idea if it works

 

[Steve in Idaho]

you don't want to get involved in alu gunwale replacement.. We bent one severely and had it replaced as bent is the same as broken as far as alu gunwales. It was pricey. I think Sven has a good idea

Does this look feasible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAjeSa6CqI Looks inexpensive. Have absolutely no idea if it works

I don't know about using that much heat next to the hull - but that was an excellent tutorial!

I had a Penobscot that had been bashed pretty hard and one gunwale was bent and cracked about half way through. After straightening it as well as I could (which wasn't bad), I patched the crack with J-B Weld. It held for as long as I had it, and is still holding as far as I know. I'd used it before as a field repair on a motorcycle engine case that got a hole punched in it by a rock. When I took the case cover in to the shop to have it properly welded, they had to use a power tool to grind that stuff off.

 

[latremorej]

Job weld is good stuff! My 28500BTU air conditioner lost a fan mount, I cleaned up the rust and used it to hold the two pieces together... still holding strong 8 or so years later.

with that said I would try JB weld and if it don't hold, you're not really out anything. Make sure.... it's NOT JB "quick weld" though

maybe JB weld a piece of aluminum flat stock on the under side for added rigidity. Any pics of the break?
Jason

 

[Guest]

I have a hand-me-down big ol' Minn 3 kevlar canoe. The mid-section of the gunnel on each side is broken thru and bent a bit. Looks like a side impact -- one side shoved in the other side shoved out, thanks to the thwart. There are also slices thru the hull. I'm going to be doing serviceable jiffy patches for the whole thing to make a casual watercraft. I want to patch the gunnels so they don't cut people's hands if they grab there. That's about all I want. Yeah, it would also be nice if the gunnel got stiff again across the break. Right now I'm thinking that a blob of PC-7 epoxy smoothed across the vicinity might do the trick.

I am a fan of PC-7 epoxy for some applications, but I do not believe epoxy paste alone will withstand the flexing and sheer forces of a broken gunwale.

The least expensive DIY home repair I would attempt would be to find a section of half inch aluminum L bracket and a strip of half inch wide aluminum stock. Cut them both at 5 or 6 inches long, put the L bracket under the inwale and the flat stock along the outwale. Drill two holes through the aluminum reinforcements, gunwale and hull sheerline on each side of the break and seat 3 / 16 inch dia pop rivets through the holes, with washers on the inwale side.

Smooth off the edges of aluminum reinforcements first so no one slices a finger. Once pop riveted in place pack some PC-7 or JB weld into the gunwale break, and maybe throw a piece of Gorilla tape over it as well.

The better solution would be to find someone who does TIG welding and have them weld the break, and maybe the aluminum reinforcements as well. Even with the TIG welding I would be tempted to stick a couple pop rivets on each side.

EDIT: I do not know if it is possible to TIG weld with the gunwale in place, or if even a couple little tack welds might damage the hull material.

Someone here may know. If TIG welding with the gunwale in place could screw the pooch skip that idea; if you had to take the gunwale off you might as well install a new one, and that is not a fun job.

 

[latremorej]

Any updates?