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 do= wn in a heavy wind. (Yeah, bad place to leave a boat, but there are a lot o= f 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 t= here 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 bui= ld 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 i= t 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

Reply to
woodchips
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... but I can spend more money on a heavy frame than the boat is worth in scrap value.

Bad comparison. Better to compare the cost of the frame to the worth of the repaired boat. You have 2 options: fix it or scrap it. Fix it for the cost of the frame and have a usable boat. Scrap it and have the scrap money, but no boat. Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

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