Rivets replacement/repair on aluminum boat

[icefisherman]

I might have few rivets that need replacement/repair and would appreciate your advice as this is something I've never done before.

 

All of them are on the "bellow water line" part of the hull (front part of the boat), so it will not be easy getting to them from inside...

Can rivets be repaired to make them tight again to stop leaks or do they need to be replaced?

 

Any place in the west side of GTA/Oakville/Milton/Burlington or North West as well that does good job for not too much money

Yeah I know...not easy to find such ....

 

How easy is to remove the floor myself (Lund Pro Sport 1700) so the rivets guy only do the rivets and I do the removing and putting back together of the floor?

 

 

What is acceptable leakage from rivets on aluminum boats? Do they all leak somewhat and how much is too much?

 

What do people charge for that kind of work? Say I remove the floor and they only do the rivets?

And then it they do all the work including floor removal and re-installation?

Anyhow....as you can see I could use any and all info on rivets in aluminum boats.

 

Hope Wayne and others who know this subject well can share their knowledge.

Thanks.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Edited August 31, 2010 by icefisherman

[bigfish1965]

My last two riveted boats didn't leak at all.

Irishfield will be back in a few weeks likely. He will know.

[danbouck]

If it can wait a few weeks just talk to Irish. He'll steer you in the right direction

[bigbuck]

I'd wait for Wayne (Irishfield) to get back. A trip to Penetang might be worth your while. You know he'll take care of it for you PROPERLY. You need to open up the bottom of the boat so he can get to all the rivets (both sides). Could be they only need a whack to tighten them up.

[icefisherman]

I'd wait for Wayne (Irishfield) to get back. A trip to Penetang might be worth your while. You know he'll take care of it for you PROPERLY. You need to open up the bottom of the boat so he can get to all the rivets (both sides). Could be they only need a whack to tighten them up.

 

Thanks for the reply guys and Yes I know Wayne will do great job so I am waiting to hear from him on this...in the meantime I am trying to figure out how to remove the main floor area as I don't see any screws hidden in the carpet in that area...I do see some screws in the casting deck area though...so that part might be easier to remove but the main one will probably be a challenge since I have no idea how to do it...so if someone has ever removed the floor on Lund Pro sport please let me know how to do it while waiting for Wayne.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[Roy]

Emil, I'm quite certain that the floor panels are screwed in place. I had trouble locating a few of mine (Princecraft) as well but I used a magnet and found them a lot more easily.

[jedimaster]

People that say all allmunim boats leak are either selling a leaky one or are defending there own leaky one. I have had leakers and I have had ones theat never leaked a drop. If your going through the work get it done right and have a good guy fix them for you and check them all out. Last thing you want to do is tear it all apart and then just do it all over again.

[anderman19]

I had a similar problem with my '92 legend. I didn't want to remove the floor, so I tried self-sealing pop rivets. They worked like a charm. I drilled out the old rivets and replaced with the self-sealing rivets - I used some marine-grade sealant around the shank of the rivet before installing. I've had my boat in the water for a month now and it isn't taking on any water. It honestly took about 15 minutes per rivet - the most difficult/time consuming part was drilling out the old rivet. You'll need a pretty heavy duty rivet gun (which I was able to borrow) and the rivets. It cost me $25 for the rivets (they only sell packs of 100) and about $20 for the sealant.

 

I'd be happy to provide more detail if you are interested.

 

 

[irishfield]

As mentioned above Emil... If it's a relatively stress free area blind "float" rivets (sealed mandrel end) are the quick and easy solution. I'm just in the door after 3+ months... not sure what I have in stock but will check when I get my head wrapped around reality!