FINALLY!!! Somebody who actually knows what they're doing! I fully expected to see silicone caulk, or flexseal, or 5200 with nuts and bolts, etc., etc., etc. like the rest of the Primitive Pete's are posting. What a breath of fresh air!
I always prefered all welded aluminum boats, but since i've been watching your videos i am no longer opposed to a riveted boat. You have shown how easy it is to find and repair damaged rivets. Great job as usual.
i weld aluminum boat t tops leaning posts ect for a living. welded boats are not better or stronger than riveted, thats a big misconception. Rivets are easier to drill out and fix where as the constant strain and stress being beat by waves or sand from beaching the bow up will crack welds and the aluminum around it. rivets allow a lot more flex and vibration but just my two cents. look at an aircraft if you want proof, theres a reason they dont weld them
On existing rivets i don't drill them out. I just get someone to hold a big hammer on the inside while i give it a good whack on the outside. Seals them up every time with very little work.
Gives me great relief. I was worried about if my rivets start leaking but with the right tools and some practice seems like it's not that difficult to replace these things
Grat video. Really informative. I have question. Restorin and old riveted aluminum boat and would like to know your opinion. The boat comes to me sanded inside and out. To bear aluminum. Sbould I seal it before water tested?
Great video thanks for posting this. I have a 57 sea king I’m restoring and the previous owner used bolts with washers and epoxy in several spots that had rivets. I want to redo it correctly before coating. Would you tig or braze the hole then reset a new oe sized rivet? Or use a bigger sized rivet with epoxy? Thanks in advance
I would go to 1/4” river but no bigger. I have welded a few up in my day but I always put the river back in. Thank you for watching and commenting I appreciate it
Hi, I'm looking for any advice you might have on how to fix a rib inside the bow of my boat that the somehow was torn off of 6 of its rivets. The outside of the hull and the rivets themselves are still in place and look perfectly fine, but when I removed the floor to replace it, I found a rib sort of popped up a little and really wide holes where the rivets used to go through. Looks like the last owner covered it in black goop and called it a day, but that's not my kind of fix. lol... I'm not sure if I can add extra rivets, or if I have to tear out the whole frame to replace that rib, or what? I appreciate any guidance you can give me because I can tell you have a lot of experience and know what you're doing. (I don't have a clue, but I'm learning...lots of thanks to you and your videos!!).
I’m a aircraft structure guy. When we rivet on the outside of airplanes we use a sealant. Just a small amount around and in the hole to seal everything up as the rivet expands. Doesn’t the boat have this from the factory?
Overlapping panels have a sealant in between the layers. A well bucked rivet will give a water tight seal. Aircraft have a high positive/negative pressure so sealant is required on certain types of rivets. A lot of times they used a epoxy primer like substance. It help prevent corrosion and fill microscopic imperfections. Thanks for watching and commenting I appreciate it
I have a huge 100 gallon in the shop. But I’ve used a small 1 gallon before. The hammer doesn’t use a lot of air in short blast. Thanks for watching and commenting
Is there any difference from. Using your method, vs traditional rivet hand tool aside from time and efficiency? Any special rivets needed for these? Cause ive seen ppl use some sort of aqua silicone when putting in riviets.
These are solid rivets. You have to hammer buck them or use a hydraulic press gun. The other type is pop. I only use closed end pop rivets as a temporary or last resort.
"Blocks under the trailer.."... Newbie question: Jack stands would work, correct? Those I got! And I want to give you my sincerest thanks! You just saved my trailer because I would have put the water right in. Thank you again.. And like John H below said ..... I thought you said "Fing rivets" and I am in North GA on the NC border LMAO
I've all but give up locating my leaks. I have a tracker 94 magna 17 fish. Takes on water at the lake. Bilge pump pumps it out. Haven't been able to locate the leak. Will try out the repair tips mentioned here.
Hey man what do you recommend to seal the bottom of a leaky aluminum Jon boat with And do you recommend jb weld or and epoxy to put on the rivets for a seal
I never use JB weld. It just doesn’t hold up. I use epoxy. If the metal is in good shape I just use the river with a little epoxy paint. It will seal without it if done right but with it it’s more forgiving.
I've tried about 20 rivets now. They just bend on me like a nail or they don't get tight. Tried different psi's. 3/16 1/2" rivets. Can't figure out why they won't work?
Might be to long. You only want about 5/16” sticking through. Anymore than that and they can bend. A variable speed impact makes it much easier. That way you can go slow till you get the hang of it.
I'm planning on doin this with my 91 lowe 1657. I believe the rivets are 3/16 should i get 3/8 or 1/2 length? Also my keels are like the one on this boat on the bottom they are just riveted to the boat some place where the rivet goes through to hold it on are torn ar broken and there are some wear holes in the keels? What would be the beat way to try and fix that?
Length is determined by the thickness of what your holding. As a rule you want 1 1/2 times the shaft sticking out. So on a 3/16 you want 5/16. If the cracks are real bad I’d have them tig welded inside and out. Then go from there
Awesome. Yes that’s the type I use most times. I keep 1/4” on hand for holes that are out of round or just need to be cleaned more. The length varies by area
Thanks for watching and commenting I appreciate it. Brazier come in hard and soft. I recommend going with soft for boat skins. I use soft 99% of the time
The Brazier indicates the type of head as I understand it. So where can you purchase a soft Brazier head aluminum rivet and how do you know you are buying soft and not hard rivets? Thanks again for your speedy reply. That was quick!
Yes sir Brazier is the type. I buy them in bulk. I have a company supposed to be shipping me some kits for me to sell that includes a variety of different lengths and the set tool but Covid has them way behind. . You can buy them on line at aircraft builder supply houses. They carry every length and diameter there is. Aircraft tool supply is there name. I use all aluminum on boats. Never mix medals. Hard rivets will have a dimple in the center of the head and usually feel a little heavier.
Thanks again for such a speedy reply. Much appreciated. I hear Aircraft Builders Supply Houses is a good source. Thanks again. Great video and information.
If it’s workable I try to straighten it before I remove the rivets. Aluminum does stretch bad. That can make it harder for sure. I’d say use a quality epoxy and try to seal the seam. Good luck
Clean it to bare aluminum. If the hole is corroded and not perfect. Go up one size on the rivet to where you have good clean hole. Sometimes I use a good epoxy on surface of skin then insert rivet. Don’t use a soft epoxy. Good luck. Thanks for watching
Sorry I just seen this. I’m gonna have a kit available soon that will have the tool and rivets of various sizes. You can contact me on Facebook. @ Team Reelin the blues.
Tig is good at filling holes but a bad idea for replacing rivets. The rivet is there to hold multiple layers and sometimes ribs or supports. I’ve had to drill out and repair many boats that were welded Welding has its place but o usually will weld up one if I think it’s to bad to just rebuk. But I will drill it out and replace the rivet afterwards. Thank you for watching and commenting
Yeah the ones i orderd off amazon where the hard ones have the dipple in the middle ended up ordering the soft ones from jay cee rivets and sales in mi
I order them in bulk. I have a rivet kit that’s supposed to be available soon. It will have varies size solid rivets as well as the set tool and some closed end blind rivets. They should be in in a couple weeks
Great information. Is it just me or does it sound like he is saying "The F'king rivets"? lol I had to less closely many times to hear that it was "bucking rivets".
Great tutorial, but I cringed when he drilled them out. That’s a fast way to go through drill bits. Keep it 700 rpm or lower to keep the temper on those bits. A good sharp bit at 700 rpm will tear through material faster than a dull bit at 3000
@@LittleBunnyKungFoo Fair enough your right about drill speed but even with cheap bits you would have to be drilling at top speed to dull them on aluminum
@dusty1498 it’s usually not a issue of dulling when working with aluminum, the biggest problem I see usually is gumming up the bit. I’ve had to oversized a few times cause the bit gummed up and fouled the hole go through.
Same here. I Hate to see a riveted boat welded at all lol. I had to weld 2 small hairline cracks around rivets. But I put the rivets back in afterwards
A good clean hole no. The panels had a sealer between the layers but they don’t apply anything to the rivet itself. I use a thin epoxy sometimes if the holes are a little corroded. You can also use a epoxy paint. Just dip in it then BUCK the rivet. Wipe off excess. You don’t want anything thick to get between the head and the surface. It will cause it to flex and leak.
I have a 14ft valco an all most down both sides have water seap out when I put the hose to the seam should I take them all out an redo them are put some kind of epoxy down the seam
I’ve had good success with epoxy on the seams. If the boat can be flipped it’s easy gravity can do the work for you. It can be done from the inside as well if it’s accessible
Circular motion drill head is exactly what uou want to do but go a size bit up and you can drill til head pops and just use nail set to pop body out of hole
I use what is called “soft” rivet. They’re all about the same. If you use “ hard” rivets they’re more difficult to get right for beginners and not necessary. I hope to have kits available soon that has rivets and the tool to set them. Thanks for watching