10 foot aluminum jon boat leaky rivets

[onthewater102]

No guessing - you can lookup the aluminum thickness with your boat manufacturer or measure it yourself, then you can measure the hole-size with your drill-bit.

 

[onthewater102]

the marine sealant is recommended to be applied to primed metal - keep that in mind

 

[bluedragon2k9]

so would the ss bolts and nuts work?

 

[bluedragon2k9]

I would actually pay someone to come fix these leaks lol
doubt any of you are close to me though be nice if any of u were.

 

[onthewater102]

bluedragon2k9 » 30 Jun 2014, 11:25[/url]"]so would the ss bolts and nuts work?

doubtful

 

[bluedragon2k9]

well looks liek im goign to find out bought the marine sealnt today buying the bolts tommorow.I have read several posts on here where people have used bolts and nuts it worked just fine.JUst wish someone that has done it comment on which bolts and nuts they used.

 

[bluedragon2k9]

well the rebuck failed.So i been chiseling rivets off and plan to use ss bolts.Its the cheapest route and im tired of worrying about it

 

[onthewater102]

I didn't think the rebuck stood much chance of working for you, hence my snarkey hillbillie repair advice comment, but you really should look into rivets. You can get so many for so little $$ that if others show leaks in the future you can fix them too without additional $$$ out of pocket. Stainless hardware is going to cost 3x - 5x as much, or more, for as many rivets as you'd get in a box (usually 50). If a bolt comes loose you've got a major leak on your hands - a rivet will only be a slow leak as it starts to fail way down the line...

Don't chisel the old ones out - you'll risk damaging your hull. Get a drill - drill off the head of the rivet and punch out the body with a nail. You'll be left with a hole - keep slipping drill bits in it moving up in size till you find the one that fits it snug before the next size up doesn't fit at all - that's the size rivet you want to order. Figure each layer of aluminum to be 1/8" thick (they're typically thinner but this will work for estimating the rivet you need.) If you have 2 layers of metal you'll need .250" grip range - 3 layers .375" - err on the longer grip range - and get aluminum rivets with steel mandrels.