Need help finding rivets, Tracker Grizzly 1648

[Johnnyboy11]

Pulling the floor for my grizzly to gut the foam out of it. I can't for the life of me find the proper size and material of rivets to put it back together. If anyone could point me in the right direction to find them and where to order them so I can a put this tin can back together properly. Thanks in advance.

 

[MDCrappie]

First off measure he rivets that are in there now, but my guess is they are 3/16". I've done the floor in 2 different Roughnecks and in my Starcraft. This is what I use -

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Flange-Aluminum-Rivets-Mandrel/dp/B07QBHH54C

If you don't mine waiting you can get them a bit cheaper on Ebay -

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2829195094...lp:2332490&itmmeta=01J00V0NG1G0Y4SFZB47F30CSG

 

[Bailey Boat]

If McMaster-Carr doesn't have it you really don't need it.......

 

[MrGiggles]

Yes, large flange aluminum pop rivets are what you need. 3/16 shank most likely.

I do not recommend steel due to dissimilar metal corrosion, and they're harder to fasten.

For use in the hull, you can also by closed end rivets that will not leak water like a regular pop rivet.

 

[Johnnyboy11]

Ended up ordering some 1/4 inch rivnuts per some recommendation from other tracker owners with the same boat, gonna see how they do once I go to button it back up.if they don't work I'll go the way y'all are saying. She finally came loose last night after 3 evenings of messing around with it.

It's ridiculous that these boats still have this problem after all the years they've made them.

 

[MDCrappie]

Ended up ordering some 1/4 inch rivnuts per some recommendation from other tracker owners with the same boat,

So what bolts are you going to use? Aluminum? Stainless?
Also if not truss headed then you'll probably be tripping all over them.

 

[Johnnyboy11]

So what bolts are you going to use? Aluminum? Stainless?
Also if not truss headed then you'll probably be tripping all over them

Gonna try these out, worst case if they don't seem to be the right fit I'll go a diff route but I am planning to do some more work in the near future so if I need to pull the floor back out those make it easier then I can rivet it later.

Stainless Steel 1/4-20 Rivet Nuts and Bolts 1" Button Head Socket Cap Screws 1/4-20 Flat Washers Rivnut Threaded Nutsert 30-Set https://a.co/d/30ufgtT

 

[Ghostryder65]

Pulling the floor for my grizzly to gut the foam out of it. I can't for the life of me find the proper size and material of rivets to put it back together. If anyone could point me in the right direction to find them and where to order them so I can a put this tin can back together properly. Thanks in advance.

They are most likely 3/16 Brazier Head rivets. 1100 aluminum. I am on my 4th hull rebuild. 2 StarCraft, a Duracraft, and a Mirrocraft. They were all 3/16 Braziers. I ordered on Amazon. Picked up the long barrel air hammer with feather trigger from HF. It's a 2 person job as you need someone to hold the bucking bar inside while the other drives from outside. Practice a bit joining some scrap to get the feel of it. Seal rivets and seams with Gluvit and it will stay sealed up..unless you ram a log or rock..

 

[MDCrappie]

They are most likely 3/16 Brazier Head rivets. 1100 aluminum. I am on my 4th hull rebuild. 2 StarCraft, a Duracraft, and a Mirrocraft. They were all 3/16 Braziers. I ordered on Amazon. Picked up the long barrel air hammer with feather trigger from HF. It's a 2 person job as you need someone to hold the bucking bar inside while the other drives from outside. Practice a bit joining some scrap to get the feel of it. Seal rivets and seams with Gluvit and it will stay sealed up..unless you ram a log or rock..

I don't think you understood him. They are NOT Brazier head rivets in the floor. There is no way for anyone to get to the other side of the rivet. (That's between the floor and the hull)

 

[Ghostryder65]

I don't think you understood him. They are NOT Brazier head rivets in the floor. There is no way for anyone to get to the other side of the rivet. (That's between the floor and the hull)

Maybe I did misunderstand him. But from my experiences they have been Brazier and you have to remove the floor and foam to get to them. You would still need do that for rivnuts, which are not sealed. Also if the threads back out, instant leak.

 

[Johnnyboy11]

Maybe I did misunderstand him. But from my experiences they have been Brazier and you have to remove the floor and foam to get to them. You would still need do that for rivnuts, which are not sealed. Also if the threads back out, instant leak.

There's a floating floor in the trackers, it's on top of aluminum tubing and it's riveted down. Some of the rivets I ground out were threaded rivnuts from the factory

 

[Ghostryder65]

Wow! I have not seen this before. But I have never seen a tracker apart before. Those look really corroded, are they steel?

 

[Johnnyboy11]

Wow! I have not seen this before. But I have never seen a tracker apart before. Those look really corroded, are they steel?

Yeah they were a bitch to get out so assuming stainless, just too much moisture under the floor they rotted out bad.

 

[MDCrappie]

Maybe I did misunderstand him. But from my experiences they have been Brazier and you have to remove the floor and foam to get to them. You would still need do that for rivnuts, which are not sealed. Also if the threads back out, instant leak.

The rivets are NOT holding the hull to the ribs, they are holding the floor to the ribs. No chance of any "leaks".

 

[Ghostryder65]

Yeah they were a ***** to get out so assuming stainless, just too much moisture under the floor they rotted out bad.

A

The rivets are NOT holding the hull to the ribs, they are holding the floor to the ribs. No chance of any "leaks".

Ahhh ok. I was trying to wrap my mind around using rivnuts though the hull and it kinda hurt my brain..

 

[Ghostryder65]

Yeah they were a ***** to get out so assuming stainless, just too much moisture under the floor they rotted out bad.

I think in that case I would just use aluminum pop rivets. No galvanic corrosion from dissimilar metals. Easy to drill out if needed. Or 316 SS screws, pre drilled holes, coat the screws with Indian head aviation shellac. It helps immensely with bolts not corroding in outboards, should do the same there. I am by no means an expert. I continue to read and research just like you are,

 

[vallottonw2]

Johnnyboy11-- I have the same hull and am trying to determine how much of a PITA it will be to remove my floor. What is all involved? is it just drilling out of the factory rivets? do they have to be ground out?​

 

[Johnnyboy11]

Johnnyboy11-- I have the same hull and am trying to determine how much of a PITA it will be to remove my floor. What is all involved? is it just drilling out of the factory rivets? do they have to be ground out?​

I ground the heads as low as I could after I drilled the middles out and then used a chisel to shear the rest of the head off. Took a lot of leverage and some brute force to pop the floor up finally.

I pried up with my lashing bar for chain lashing so hard that it was lifting the stern of the boat off the bunks on my trailer, it finally gave after a while. Also once you get the floor off you may have to tap the rest of the old rivets through the beams with a 1/4 inch punch.

 

[vallottonw2]

@jonnhyboy11 i have deeply searched the internet for others that have removed these floors and you are the only one i can find... so thank you for chiming in here. Any other tips you might give? Recall what sized drill bit/type used to drill the rivets out? What would you do different if in my shoes? Was there something else holding it down after you got all the rivets out? Trying to avoid a disaster

 

[Johnnyboy11]

@jonnhyboy11 i have deeply searched the internet for others that have removed these floors and you are the only one i can find... so thank you for chiming in here. Any other tips you might give? Recall what sized drill bit/type used to drill the rivets out? What would you do different if in my shoes? Was there something else holding it down after you got all the rivets out? Trying to avoid a disaster

When I did mine I believe I used a 3/16 bit. The holes are right at 1/4 inch. I would definitely add some drain holes to the framing underneath because those side channels don't drain at all. There's some foam under there but the bulk of it is in the back bench and pods plus some under the casting deck.

I had to cut some of the aluminum on the sides out to access the foam underneath in the outer most channels under the floor. I buttoned mine back up temporarily last week, I used 1/4 inch aluminum rivets, because I kept breaking rivet nut setters, and the rivet nuts didn't have enough grab to hold tight. Eventually I may replace them with stainless rivets for strength but idk.