Aluminum boat rivet repair!

[DipfromPAinOttawa]

Anyone know anywhere in the Orleans area that can fix/replace rivets on an aluminum boat? I have one rivet on the underside that has gaped and is allowing water to pass thru into the boat at a fairly decent rate! Any recommendation on places or possibly self repairs would be greatly appreciated.

Lee

[chiro31]

Bullfrog rivet kit you might want to check that out.....

[Dekker500]

If it isn't too bad, have a friend hold a sledgehammer against one side of the rivet as you hammer the other side of the rivet... The use of a suitably sized punch can prevent unwanted dents...

[Grey_Thunder]

If you don't have too many rivets to repair, you can actually consider using pop rivets. No, they are not nearly as good as full rivets but it depends if you have access to on the inside of the boat.

I had an 18' aluminum bass boat and my rivets would give right under the gas tank. I would have had to take apart the entire boat to repair. What I did was use blind (closed end) pop-rivets (aluminum body, steel mandril) and a pop rivet gun (and some silicone). Worked like a charm but would last 1 season, 2 at best. However, they were easy to insert and install.

I had a couple of holes that were big and need BIG rivets. McMaster Carr had big 0.25" pop-rivets and I bought a cheap (huge) pop-rivet gun from Princess Auto that did the trick....

Not the textbook "correct" solution but a good workaround that worked well for me.

[Ramblinman]

Depending that the rivet hole is not too egged out, you can drill out the rivet with a smaller size drill and use a blind rivet , fill the hole with 3M 5200 first, and use a good quality rivet gun. Rivets can be found at Laurentian Marine in Ottawa.

Otherwise West Marine makes a rivet repair product applied with torch , works very well. Google up local source.

I have done both and was successful with them.

Good Luck

[DipfromPAinOttawa]

Thank you all for the awesome advice! I had decided to Rebuck the rivet that was leaking. With doing so it sealed up nice and tight, I also went ahead and applied 3m 5200 to the side and outside. Will find out in a few days if it all worked out

[Frobro]

Hi,
I'm doing a similar repair on two Aluminum boats, just curious as to where you got the 3m 5200. I'm also in the Orleans area so if you could nudge me in the right direction that would be great.

Thanks

[Ramblinman]

You can get it at Cdn Tire, or The Chandlery in town.