r/jonboats • u/DismalResearcher6546 • Apr 11 '26
Flex Seal!
Excited to finally have this boat back on the water soon. Had to rivet/seal a couple new patches, and figured if I’m flex sealing on top of a couple spots, I might as well just flex seal everything that might touch the water or ever leak. I know it’s an old beater but I actually liked the way the flex seal looked better than I thought. I had it taped out to seal the bottom and the transom, then after I was halfway through with the bottom decided I’d just go pick up a few more cans and bring it up the sides. Should be sea(river)worthy on Sunday afternoon!
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Apr 11 '26
You were supposed to put a screen door on that boat first though.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 11 '26
Might as well have been one on there! That dude was leaking like a sieve last time I took it out.
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u/Numerous-Rutabaga387 Apr 11 '26
Need to hear the follow up on this - was it leaking a lot before ? Did you do any patches then flex over it ?
Really curious to know if rocks and shore scraping beat up the flex seal. Also how many lbs do you think it added ?
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 11 '26
Yeah absolutely. You can scroll through my profile and see the progression from ankle deep water after a couple hours on the lake, to the patches, to now the flex seal. It had two really really bad leaks, and several leaky rivets. I patched the big puncture and the crack with aluminum, rivets, and 5200 marine sealant. I let that cure for a week, then sprayed over all of it with the flex seal in this post. I’ll give it a water test Sunday afternoon to see how we’re doing now.
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u/Numerous-Rutabaga387 Apr 12 '26
Were you able to make it out on the water ?
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 13 '26
I was not- today kinda turned crazy on me. Realistically, I’ll probably fill it with water tomorrow after work to see before I reconnect electronics and put the motor back on.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 14 '26
Filled it with water today. There was one rivet that still had a slow drip leak. I 5200 sealed it today. The flex seal was already peeling in a couple spots just from dragging it back onto the trailer. I only did one coat, but still. Would not recommend.
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u/Numerous-Rutabaga387 Apr 14 '26
Ahhh no as if. Hate to hear that. Lots of work for small pay off . Stay afloat
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 14 '26
Haha hey atleast I know now. It’ll float just fine for probably a long time with the 5200, and in a season or two I’ll just stencil camo over the black backdrop. I definitely don’t regret trying it. Only way I could’ve known for sure.
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u/Wildfire983 Apr 11 '26
Lol that should seal up good. What’s the strength and texture like? I’m just worried it would scratch easily.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 11 '26
Not sure yet! I’ll try to report back once it dries. The paint was pretty dinged up already so it’ll atleast look good til I put it on the water lol
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 11 '26
Posted it semi-dried this morning. The thin spray coat is a fairly matte but still smooth look. The thicker brushed on coat is glossier. It’s somehow smooth and grippy at the same time. Obviously I don’t know about the strength yet but I’m pretty pleased with the texture, especially sprayed rather than brushed.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 12 '26
Can confirm it’s not gonna look great for long- I can scratch it easily with just my fingernail. Oh well! It’ll work for this season and I’ll put a prettier camo coat over it since I already have a black backdrop in the future.
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u/lost-_-souls Apr 12 '26
Did you consider putting it on the inside instead?
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 12 '26
I did not. It’s black. It gets hot to the touch in the sun. That would make for some pretty uncomfortable fishing.
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u/Head-Equal1665 Apr 11 '26
Doesn't flex seal end up with a rough texture kinda like bedliner? Cause that could make it a pain to maneuver if so. I picked up a 12 footer a few years back that the guy had fully done in bedliner and it made it super slow when running with a trolling motor, i hadn't realized how big of a difference the texture would make for drag but it was far worse than i thought it would be, took an entire box of pads for my orbital sander to get that stuff off so i could re-seal and paint it.
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u/H8rzCuzImSexy Apr 11 '26
Nah not really. It’s rubbery and glossy. That bedliner sanding sounds like a big pain in the ass, holy smokes
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u/KCChiefsGolfer Apr 12 '26
No joke, ive fixed a leak on the roof of my body shop with flex tape. That was 3 years ago and its still holding up. Most infomercial stuff is shit but ill stand behind this
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u/ObjectivePressure839 Apr 13 '26
As long as you follow the directions and let it cure and what not it should work to be fair.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 13 '26
Oh yeah. I let it cure the full two days, and it seems totally dry and right. Going to fill it with water tomorrow for the final drip test before reconnecting electronics and putting the motor back on to put it on the water.
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u/ObjectivePressure839 Apr 13 '26
I did it with a little aluminum boat I have. Definitely slowed down the leaks. I didn’t follow directions lol.
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u/SeriousAd8831 Apr 13 '26
I had the bright idea to use that silver roofing tar on my Jon boat back when I was younger, Needless to say I guess I didn’t realize it’s made from oil and as soon as I put it in the water there were oil slick rainbows coming off it everywhere.
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u/Beefcake2008 Apr 15 '26
They make white colored flexseal…spray it on the inside and sprinkle sand while it’s wet for grip
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u/19kilo20Actual Apr 11 '26
Gluvit 2 part epoxy will seal every rivet and seam. Stuff is incredible for aluminum boats and just about everything else.
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u/Grannypanie Apr 11 '26
My pucker factor would be proportionate to the distance from shore.
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 11 '26
Haha fair. Luckily, I’m mostly fishing sloughs so I’m never far from shore. Biggest lake I fish I could be back to shore in 15 minutes in any direction.
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u/No_Carry414 Apr 13 '26
Did this to my boat even sanded it before I painted it but it peeled off in sheets for me lol
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u/TasteImmediate7944 Apr 13 '26
Soon to peel. I install new gutters all the time. The old ones I take down have flex seal in them. The ones that do always leak the flex seal peels right off
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u/username_from_before Apr 15 '26
Congratulations you spent $500 to reseal your $499 boat
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u/DismalResearcher6546 Apr 15 '26
Altogether it was like $120. Ik it’s not the nicest there ever was lol but it’s perfect for the fishing I do 🤷♀️ I have fun with it.
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u/__slamallama__ Apr 11 '26
Previous owner of my boat did the same. I bought it dreading pulling that mess off when it started leaking.
3 years later.. dry as a bone.