# Rivets



## sams (Aug 15, 2011)

I think that I need to replace some of the rivets in my 16' Starcraft Seafarer. Does anyone know what the hull rivets used in this boat are? I can probably figure out what size head they take, however, without an undeformed rivet I am not sure what length or diameter shank I need.

Sam


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## bill11 (Aug 15, 2011)

Most hull rivets are 3/16 solid. I would call starcraft. Also-- google a solid rivot supply store and see what type of rivet head style they used on your boat. Alot of times people will use the next larger size rivet if the origional hole gets damaged during repair. the rivot should be coated with some 3m 5200 as an added measure to prevent leaks. --- bill11


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## krawler (Aug 15, 2011)

You can use sealing pop rivets in aluminum. It's as simple as, Drill out the old rivet, put a dab of 5200, insert pop rivet, squeeze and your done.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-rivets/=dmw1q0 Click on the sealing blind rivets. Aluminum

or

Drill out old rivet and replace with new solid rivet. Usually requires two people.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-rivets/=dmvzmw


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## soky72 (Aug 15, 2011)

I got 3/16 and 1/4 Brazier Rivets (both 3/8 inch long) from Granger then ordered a 3/16 and 1/4 inch air hammer brazier rivet bits for my 83 sea nymph bass attacker. My boat has 3/16 rivets and some of the rivets are a tight fit and some holes are "wallowed" out so I will drill them to the 1/4 size. I replaced one of the 3/16 rivets the other day to test it out and it looks factory except for the fact that the rivet is super shiny new.


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## jigngrub (Aug 16, 2011)

This is a very easy one man rivet install!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MA1-5NXjs&feature=related


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## sams (Aug 16, 2011)

It looks like pop rivets is the way to go. All of the people I can get to help buck are married with kids as am I. This makes scheduleing someone for an hour or two tough. One man jobs make it easy.

Sam


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## jigngrub (Aug 16, 2011)

Just be sure to get the closed end blind rivets.

This is where I get mine from.

https://www.rivetsonline.com/blind-rivets-en/closed-end-blind-rivets.html


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## LonLB (Aug 16, 2011)

I'm going to need some replaced. I need it to look factory since it will be right on the side of the boat. Removing some riveted on trim, and need to put rivets back in the holes.

Anyone in MI have these and willing to help? I'm willing to pay.


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## Aaron Lariscy (Aug 16, 2011)

sams said:


> It looks like pop rivets is the way to go. All of the people I can get to help buck are married with kids as am I. This makes scheduleing someone for an hour or two tough. One man jobs make it easy.
> 
> Sam



Be forewarned however that pop rivets don't have anywhere near the holding strength of solid rivetsy so if its something structural to the boat I would go solid and wait till you can get help you'll be happier in the end


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## BassBlaster (Aug 16, 2011)

I agree, go with solid rivots. The manufacturer used them for a reason. Thier stronger, they require no sealant and they dont require a $75 rivot gun. They do however require an air hammer and a compressor to run them. I purchased my hammer at Harbor Freight for $12.99 and it came with 9 bits. I turned one of the bits into a rivot setting bit. Took all of 5 minutes to make the bit and takes all of 10 seconds to install a rivot.


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## jigngrub (Aug 16, 2011)

Aaron Lariscy said:


> Be forewarned however that pop rivets don't have anywhere near the holding strength of solid rivetsy so if its something structural to the boat I would go solid and wait till you can get help you'll be happier in the end



Oh yeah!... they're just for decoration eh? I guess thats wht all the internal framing in my Tracker is fastented with blind rivets and some of the external pieces too. :roll: 



BassBlaster said:


> I agree, go with solid rivots. The manufacturer used them for a reason. Thier stronger, they require no sealant and they dont require a $75 rivot gun. They do however require an air hammer and a compressor to run them. I purchased my hammer at Harbor Freight for $12.99 and it came with 9 bits. I turned one of the bits into a rivot setting bit. Took all of 5 minutes to make the bit and takes all of 10 seconds to install a rivot.



Whats a rivot???

If you'll look at Harbor Freight (yanno, the place where you got your air hammer?) you'll find a heavy duty blind *rivet* tool that installs the 1/4" dia. blind *rivets* for $20.

https://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-17-1-2-half-inch-hand-riveter-with-collection-bottle-66422.html

If y'all will read up on the closed end blind rivets you will see that they're waterproof without sealant or epoxy, we just do that for a little bit of overkill.


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## BassBlaster (Aug 16, 2011)

Really, your gonna call me out because I mispelled a word online? I bet you have never done that before. Lol, you dont have to get mad at me just because most everyone on this site disagrees with most everything you post.

This site is about helping people. I see that you try and help but your always pushing the same thing. Every post you have posted on this site has been about arsenic laced plywood and rivets that arnt meant for marine use. Is that stuff okay to use? Sure. Is it the best way? I doubt it. Just because I and many others tend to disagree with you dosnt mean you need to get all pissy and start calling me out for a mispelling so you can make yourself look better than me.

For the record, 13 bucks is cheaper than 20 and I can use my air hammer for a million things. Your rivet gun can only be that, a rivet gun. I'm sure your way of doing it is fine, I'm just saying there are other ways. If someone posts something and I feel like there is a better way to do it, I'm gona post it. Dont take it personal. if your just gonna cry and moan and cause trouble every time some one disagrees with you, your not gonna last long here.

BTW, theres probably a mispelling in this post if you wanna try to make me look stupid again!!


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## jigngrub (Aug 16, 2011)

Ok, just for the record. My original post to this thread was for an easy one man rivet installation. Not everyone can get someone lined up to help them do some work when they need it done.

Closed end blind rivets are stronger than the regular open end "pop" rivets, they're used in marine and aviation applications because they have a watertight and airtight seal. they're usually used when the back of the rivet is inaccessible for bucking... and if they're good enough for airplanes, they're good enough for my boat!!!

Closed end blind rivets may not be quite as strong as solid rivets, but that why we step up from a 3/16 dia. to a 1/4" dia.

Just because something isn't "your way" of doing things, it doesn't mean it's a bad way. there's as many ways to do something as there is people to tell you how to do it.


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## BassBlaster (Aug 16, 2011)

jigngrub said:


> Just because something isn't "your way" of doing things, it doesn't mean it's a bad way. there's as many ways to do something as there is people to tell you how to do it.


Exactly, and if you'll go back and read my post, I never said your way was wrong or even bad. I just said your way wasnt necissarily best and gave an option I thought was better. Does that mean I'm right? Not entirely but based on the fact that EVERY manufacturer as far as I'm aware that makes riveted boats, uses solid rivets, I tend to think thats probably the best way. Cheaper too, providing one allready owns a compresor.

As for the reply to the other guy that you tried to make look stupid in the same post as me, you just agreed with him in your last post, lol.


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## Aaron Lariscy (Aug 16, 2011)

:roll:


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## mmarz4evr (Nov 21, 2011)

bill11 said:


> Most hull rivets are 3/16 solid. I would call starcraft. Also-- google a solid rivot supply store and see what type of rivet head style they used on your boat. Alot of times people will use the next larger size rivet if the origional hole gets damaged during repair. the rivot should be coated with some 3m 5200 as an added measure to prevent leaks. --- bill11



I'm having a hard time understands these rivet sizes. I also have a starcraft and will call them tomorrow, but what is the i size up from 3/16?


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## tepponogu (Nov 23, 2011)

mmarz4evr said:


> bill11 said:
> 
> 
> > Most hull rivets are 3/16 solid. I would call starcraft. Also-- google a solid rivot supply store and see what type of rivet head style they used on your boat. Alot of times people will use the next larger size rivet if the origional hole gets damaged during repair. the rivot should be coated with some 3m 5200 as an added measure to prevent leaks. --- bill11
> ...



I believe he next size up is 1/4" . 

On another note, how do you know if you need to replace the rivet? I ha e a couple that are leaking but read somewhere in another thread about using a hammer and anvil to tighten them up followed by some 5200.

Also, is ordering online he only place/way to get rivets tools and 3m5200? Do they sell it at home depot by chance?


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## kofkorn (Nov 23, 2011)

They have the fast cure 5200 at Home Depot. It's in the paint dept., in the adhesives area. I just picked some up two days ago.


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## tepponogu (Nov 25, 2011)

Bump.

Hoping that someone can help me decide if I need to replace the rivets, or if hammering them and sealing them is enough. Tia.


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## PSG-1 (Nov 25, 2011)

When I was a kid, I had a riveted bottom boat that leaked like a sieve, but I reckon that's because I jumped waves with the dang thing like it was a jet ski. (I was a bit of a hellraiser in my youth) We tightened them up with the hammer and anvil method, and it worked somewhat. probably would have worked better if I had used 5200 on the rivets, but I didn't know about that stuff way back then.


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## tepponogu (Nov 26, 2011)

Thanks psg! Is there a specific type of anvil that I need?


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## jigngrub (Nov 26, 2011)

PSG-1 said:


> We tightened them up with the hammer and anvil method, and it worked *somewhat*.



That's the problem with rebucking rivets, it's a temporary fix because the rivet is already weakened at will leak again. If you rebuck, you'll have to rebuck again, and again, and again.

If you're going to take the time and effort to rebuck rivets you might as well go ahead and drill out the old ones and install new ones. It only takes a minute to drill out a rivet.


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## PSG-1 (Nov 26, 2011)

tepponogu said:


> Thanks psg! Is there a specific type of anvil that I need?



Not sure. When we did it, I had a friend under the boat, holding a 8 lb sledgehammer against the bottom of each rivet while I hit from the inside of the boat, using a ball-peen hammer. Like I said, it slowed the leaks down, but only by a little bit.

But it was better than what I had before. When I'd be running along, the rivets would shoot streams of water a few inches high! Looked like I had a sprinkler system in my boat.

But from my own experience, along with what jigngrub said, it's only a temporary fix.


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## soky72 (Nov 26, 2011)

You can get 3/16 and 1/4 inch aluminum BRAZIER rivets from Granger. Boats use Brazier rivets usually in those two sizes. My boat has the 3/16 but when you remove some of the leaking rivets you will sometimes see the hole may not be perfectly round from the rivet movement wallowing them out from drilling them out imperfectly so I redrill those holes one size up to 1/4 inch. I then ordered Brazier Rivet Bits for an air hammer off the net. The 3/16 and 1/4 inch are about $10-12 a piece. You don't have to have an air hammer to do it but it certainly would be quicker. You can put the bit against the rivets concave head and press as hard against the boat as possible and tap the other side with a hammer. It looks factory when your done. The 5200 sealant is a good idea too. Once you have done it its so much easier then you would have guessed.


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## tepponogu (Nov 26, 2011)

Okay. So if i'm understanding this correctly, the 3/16 & 1/4 measurements are the width of the rivets. How long should the rivets be? Looking at the links to mcmaster that were provided earlier, there are a lot of different sizes. Here (Colorado), at least, I know you have to have a business license to order from Granger. Not sure why, but that's the way they've always been. An air hammer isn't going to be an option for me, there isn't an air compressor where mu boat is being stored, so which rivet is going to be my best bet (it'll also ne a one man job. I'm also very.poor so, the fewer tools I meed to buy, the better)? I know there was some disagreement as to what is best.


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## jigngrub (Nov 27, 2011)

3/16 and 1/4 are not the width of the rivet, they're the diameter. The width of a rivet is the width of the head.

The length of a rivet is determined by the thicknesses of the 2 materials that you're riveting together. This is called the *Grip Range*. You could probably get by with a 1/8-14" grip range, but you need to check the material you're fastening yourself to be sure.

For $20 + S&H you can get this heavy duty rivet tool.
https://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-17-1-2-half-inch-hand-riveter-with-collection-bottle-66422.html

For $17 + S&H you can get 100 1/4" dia. closed end blind rivets that will make fixing your boat a one man job.
https://www.rivetsonline.com/closed-end-blind-rivet-pr84asph.html

Fixing your boat will be as easy as this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MA1-5NXjs&feature=related

It doesn't get any easier or simpler than that.


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## tepponogu (Nov 27, 2011)

Good info! Thanks jig!


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