kevinwak
Platinum Member
I had a small crack in a pontoon on my boat. About 1-2” long on a vertical seam. In the past I have had horizontal cracks repaired and had no issues.
Well I took it to a friend who owns a pro welding shop and they said “no problem, we do stuff like this all the time”. Half a day later they say they are finished. I pick the boat up and their is a big ugly patch with welds that look like chicken poop all over it. Oh well, as long as it holds right? Wrong. I take it home and put 1-2 pounds of air in it and hear the leak right away. I take it back and they say sorry, we will get a tig in and fix it right. Didn’t I want it fixed right the first time? Now I am noticing an adjacent repair job done nine years ago is also leaking, even though it was good when I took it in.
Five days later they call saying the boat is done and it went really well. I go to pick it up, and it looks horrible, but am thinking as long as it holds who cares how it looks. Get home, park it in the drive and continue on my day. Next morning is hot and sunny after a day of rain. I am walking passed the boat and can hear air leaking. I crawl under and see bubbling from a weld on the opposite side of the pontoon from West they worked. One that has never leaked before. I call My friend and get excuses and he keeps telling me that the guys that worked on it are very experienced and there are no better in the area.
So I am finally smart enough to not take it back there, but am left with an embarrassment of a weld job that caused bigger leaks then what I took it in for.
Long story short. How do I choose a welder to do this repair.
Called a local boat dealer and they said they take all their repairs to this one local shop. Called them And chatted and they said they mostly use mig
Next called a local marine repair shop. They said they just bought a tig setup for aluminum and have a welder that they bring in to make repairs using their tig setup.
I am debating between these two or finding something in the city 3 hours away.
Well I took it to a friend who owns a pro welding shop and they said “no problem, we do stuff like this all the time”. Half a day later they say they are finished. I pick the boat up and their is a big ugly patch with welds that look like chicken poop all over it. Oh well, as long as it holds right? Wrong. I take it home and put 1-2 pounds of air in it and hear the leak right away. I take it back and they say sorry, we will get a tig in and fix it right. Didn’t I want it fixed right the first time? Now I am noticing an adjacent repair job done nine years ago is also leaking, even though it was good when I took it in.
Five days later they call saying the boat is done and it went really well. I go to pick it up, and it looks horrible, but am thinking as long as it holds who cares how it looks. Get home, park it in the drive and continue on my day. Next morning is hot and sunny after a day of rain. I am walking passed the boat and can hear air leaking. I crawl under and see bubbling from a weld on the opposite side of the pontoon from West they worked. One that has never leaked before. I call My friend and get excuses and he keeps telling me that the guys that worked on it are very experienced and there are no better in the area.
So I am finally smart enough to not take it back there, but am left with an embarrassment of a weld job that caused bigger leaks then what I took it in for.
Long story short. How do I choose a welder to do this repair.
Called a local boat dealer and they said they take all their repairs to this one local shop. Called them And chatted and they said they mostly use mig
Next called a local marine repair shop. They said they just bought a tig setup for aluminum and have a welder that they bring in to make repairs using their tig setup.
I am debating between these two or finding something in the city 3 hours away.
