"How To" Re-rivet heLP?

[Caleb]

I've ready all the post on here on re-riveting an aluminum boat. But I'm just a noobie and will need a little more define procedure. HelP?

1. How to get the rivet out? Everyone says drill, does that mean just drill in the middle of the rivet?

2. New rivet (pop rivet?), what type of tools do I need for this, I don't know tools that much, name/brand might help.

3 I've read that after reriveting, adding a liner will help prolong it? Or is there something else I can use?

4. What else should I take notice?

[harvey lee]

Caleb

Steve Bakken should see this in a day or two and he has all the knowledge you will need to get the job done right.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Year ago I had to take the floor out of a boat and had to replace about 15 riviets.. drilled them out as you sated in the center with a drill...all the rest I was just able to re-seal... a guy with a ball-pin hammer on one side of the boat and a guy with a rivet holder dealy on the other.. It was a long process.. but it held.. I sold that boat and then had a memember in my family buy it back after a couple of years.. so, that was probably about 10 years ago and it still doesnt leak.

[Steve Bakken]

Thanks for the kind words, Harvey. You can drill them out or just hit the end of the rivet on the inside of the hull with a grinder enough to take off the flare. The main concern when using a drill is that you don't enlarge the original hole at all with the drill bit. There are a few pop rivets available that are solid in the middle, but they're expensive and you almost have to have a pneumatic riveter to pull that nail through. The best thing to do is to just get regular soft rivets and have a buddy help you. Push the rivet through from the outside and then hold it in place with something metal and heavy ( like a 3 pound hammer ) and have your buddy hammer on the rivet from the inside untill it flares out. Nothing to it. We do hundreds of these a year at the boat shop and have never seen one leak.

[Caleb]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping to get to this this week sometime inorder to have boat ready for open water. Is there any type of tool that will help instead of hammering? I know of a few small tool rental shops in the metro. Maybe I can rent some type of tool to help make the process a little easier.

[sparcebag]

There is a tool called a rivit set it rounds or crimps the rivit in place,not the formed head but the shaft after its stuck through the hole,other than that its by hand.with the set you stick the rivit through and your anvil or back tool is put on the formed head then the set is placed on rivit shaft then the set is hammered till the rivit is set or tight.

[jigginlow]

Copy and paste this into your browser: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/to/rivettools.html

While it might not be reasonable to buy these tools, you may be able to rent them somewhere. If you know anyone in the aircraft industry, they will certainly know how to put these tools into practice. Good luck.

[Scott K]

What kind of boat is it, and what year, and where do you live? alot of boat manufactures will re-rivet them no charge! If it has a floor in it, you may want to take that out so its easier for them, and it would only take them a few minutes to pop a few new rivets in there for you!