I just got a new old boat... A 1968 14' alum. hull Valco.

This being the first aluminum boat and the first power boat I've owned,
I'd like to ask a few questions...

The hull is riveted aluminum. There is a very small leak somewhere - it
takes on about 1/2" of water in 3 hours. What's the best way to find the
leak and then to plug it? I'm thinking of just filling the boat up with
water and seeing where it drips out. But how do you go about caulking a
riveted boat? (I ask because there are signs of some very amaturish
attempts to caulk it...)

The engine is a 1975 Merc 9.8 outboard. Is there anything I need to look
out for? Maintenance? Filters? Carb? It runs really well, and it seems
to have been maintained well. Mercury was very unhelpful; they offered to
sell me the manual... (I don't really blame them, but the goal of this
boat is to stay cheap.....) (Yeah, I know, cheap and boat don't go
together in one sentence... :-) )

Any information, especially sources of info for older Valco boats,
welcome. Valco has been bought by Klamath, and information on older boats
is pretty scarce....

--Yan


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Yan Seiner, PE (_)\(_) ,/'_ o__
Certified Personal Trainer (_)\(_) ,/'_ o__
Licensed Professional Engineer (_)\(_) ,/'_
Who says engineers have to be pencil necked geeks? (_)\(_)