Rivet gun for Aluminum Boats

I am looking to repair an aluminum boat and need some advice.


1. Rivet Gun: Would this cheap one be adequate? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Arrow-1-...7SHK/304679379

2. Rivets: Not sure what size i need. Since i will have to drill out the old I imagine i have to go large so perhaps these at 1/4". https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/62184

3. Sealant:
a. Gluvit:https://www.amazon.ca/Travaco-Gluvit...1DGRMPSMZQ5STP


For the rivets I saw a video of a guy saying OEM would something like a Brazier Rivet. This needs a neumatic hammer gun and something for the back plate like a hammer i believe. Definitely seems like a bridge to far since i am looking to fix this boat well, but for fairly little money. So buying these tools which i don't really have is not an option i want to explore.

And if anyone is generous enough and has a nice rivet gun (battery or air powered) in the Ottawa area that I could make the job quicker/easier that i could borrow I would be eternally grateful. Since its only for one job I don't want to spend lots of money on something expensive. I imagine this job wouldnt take more than a few days maybe a week so i wouldn't have it for long.

Thanks

I guess the first question would be,are the rivets gone? If the old rivets are there and the boat just leaks all you need is two hammers and a buddy with hearing protection.

One guy on either side of the boat, one river at a time, give each a good smack with the hammer while buddy holds his hammer on the inside.

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It can't be that easy can it! I dont have a pool or water nearby to test sadly so maybe I was aiming for overkill before driving the boat out to a lake.

Yes all rivets are there. Added some water to the boat and the center keel (i think that's what its called) has slow drips all down the thing. So far i have sanded down the bottom as there was signs of some sort of caulking all over the place. The plan was to clean it all off, then replace the rivets on the keel and use an epoxy on the outside of the boat along the rivets.

fill the boat with water and see were it leaks from the underside

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CDN008

It can't be that easy can it! I dont have a pool or water nearby to test sadly so maybe I was aiming for overkill before driving the boat out to a lake.

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Well ya, it can be that easy? Put the boat up on saw horse's and add water. The leaks will show up, mark them and then have a buddy help you to "peen" them. It aint rocket science?

It works did it on mine then I covered each rivet with seal it and expoxy inside and out no leaks

Had a friend fix a leaky 14 foot aluminum by using a paint brush and painting the entire inside with a thin layer of bedliner coating that you get at NAPA. It's been about 5 years now and its never leaked. Fixed a vibration problem when you trolled as well. Only drawback is it's black and gets hot on scorcher days. He tried peening but some of his rivet heads had been sand scoured flat with the hull. A few popped the first time the boat flexed on a rough day.

Bought some aluminum brazing rods, silicone wore off after last 5 years of use, this should last a lot longer.


As others have said, can tighten then rivets up with 2 hammers, youtube it.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SongDog

Bought some aluminum brazing rods, silicone wore off after last 5 years of use, this should last a lot longer.


As others have said, can tighten then rivets up with 2 hammers, youtube it.

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Be careful heating the aluminium especially if it 7 series , means heat treated , it has very high tensile strength 120,000 psi.
Once heated it drops down to 20,000 psi

Often times you can't get at a leaking rivet with a hammer and backing mall because its under a seat or bracket. The simplest fix by far is a two part epoxy. As the old phart from east of the Soo says, put it up on sawhorses and slowly add water. Watch which rivets drip then mark'em with a black (or pink if you prefer) marker pen. Buff and clean them up with a wire brass wheel and apply the epoxy. I bought G/flex from Thunder Bay and it was utterly amazing stuff. It was liquid enough to drip on a rivet then it actually seeped through to coat both inside and outside of the rivet. I worked on a boat about 8 years ago, its sits outside in the snow every winter and still doesn't leak one drop.

Thanks everyone for the tips. Will put some to use and see how she goes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sawbill

Often times you can't get at a leaking rivet with a hammer and backing mall because its under a seat or bracket. The simplest fix by far is a two part epoxy. As the old phart from east of the Soo says, put it up on sawhorses and slowly add water. Watch which rivets drip then mark'em with a black (or pink if you prefer) marker pen. Buff and clean them up with a wire brass wheel and apply the epoxy. I bought G/flex from Thunder Bay and it was utterly amazing stuff. It was liquid enough to drip on a rivet then it actually seeped through to coat both inside and outside of the rivet. I worked on a boat about 8 years ago, its sits outside in the snow every winter and still doesn't leak one drop.

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Thumbs Up pal!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sawbill

As the old phart from east of the Soo says, put it up on sawhorses and slowly add water.

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Hey, I resemble that remark!

Ok so i figure i will give everyone an update in case someone else finds themselves in a similar situation. To recap, that is with a crappy leaky old aluminum boat and no idea what to do.

So my neighbour and I spent about 15-20 hours sanding the whole this down. Mainly because there was lots of residue from old caulking all over most of the rivets and i wanted to get rid of all the old stuff.

Used something similar to this https://www.amazon.ca/3M-9099DCNA-La...7W1FBEY02CMNEM

So once that was done I bought West System G Flex epoxy. These two little bottles was enough to cover all the rivets on a 12' boat with about 1/5th remaining in the bottle. I applied it very liberally, meaning i certainly wasted plenty and could have done a bigger boat if i cared about it dripping down and wastage. https://www.westsystem.com/specialty...ughened-epoxy/

So after all this I bought a used 4-5 year old 6Hp Suzuki and it doesn't go fast but gets me out fishing. Will likely paint it camo and install a blind with a sort of custom metal pole system - something like this https://files.osgnetworks.tv/8/files...to_blind_F.jpg and use it for waterfowl as well to access places further than my canoe.

Also a fun fact, for someone that has never boated before in a small aluminum, a 12' boat with only one person in the back with a small motor and 12l external tank is terrible. You point right at the sky if you want to have any speed at all. With a passenger in the front no issue and rides level. So for me i put two cinder blocks in the front and I am gtg!

TLDR - got boat, sanded boat, epoxed boat and embarked on my maiden voyage with the SS s-box.

Sounds great, add some pics if you can :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CDN008

Ok so i figure i will give everyone an update in case someone else finds themselves in a similar situation. To recap, that is with a crappy leaky old aluminum boat and no idea what to do.

So my neighbour and I spent about 15-20 hours sanding the whole this down. Mainly because there was lots of residue from old caulking all over most of the rivets and i wanted to get rid of all the old stuff.

Used something similar to this https://www.amazon.ca/3M-9099DCNA-La...7W1FBEY02CMNEM

So once that was done I bought West System G Flex epoxy. These two little bottles was enough to cover all the rivets on a 12' boat with about 1/5th remaining in the bottle. I applied it very liberally, meaning i certainly wasted plenty and could have done a bigger boat if i cared about it dripping down and wastage. https://www.westsystem.com/specialty...ughened-epoxy/

So after all this I bought a used 4-5 year old 6Hp Suzuki and it doesn't go fast but gets me out fishing. Will likely paint it camo and install a blind with a sort of custom metal pole system - something like this https://files.osgnetworks.tv/8/files...to_blind_F.jpg and use it for waterfowl as well to access places further than my canoe.

Also a fun fact, for someone that has never boated before in a small aluminum, a 12' boat with only one person in the back with a small motor and 12l external tank is terrible. You point right at the sky if you want to have any speed at all. With a passenger in the front no issue and rides level. So for me i put two cinder blocks in the front and I am gtg!

TLDR - got boat, sanded boat, epoxed boat and embarked on my maiden voyage with the SS s-box.

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Thanks for giving an update on the story! I wish there were more folks doing that. We get so many people who pop on here with questions, they get a ton of answers and suggestions, then we never hear from them again? As fratri say's, let's see some pics. Enjoy your new boat!

Apologies for the super late update but i had issues with my phones camera that i just lived with it but got frustrated and so then convinced Apple to repair it :) sent it for repair and just got a loaner.

So you will notice that the leaking epoxy goes up because i did the work while upside down. No pics of the underside yet although you can imagine what it looks like. Might get it off the water next week to paint it for waterfowl, havent decided yet. Lots of work to turn this into a waterfowl boat with painting and building a custom rig to hold cam netting.

Last pic is of my canoe I did last year and will maybe take the time to do this again for the boat. My work will see me travelling a lot this fall so I'm not sure i want to build a rig that will allow me to travel more on the water for ducks when i can just take the canoe out here and there to my usual spots.

Attachment 40684
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almost 50 year old canoe Before photo
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After photos
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Its hard to tell from your pics but it looks like your motor is attached to the transom on an aluminum covered strip. If this is the case you should make sure you have a safety rope or chain attached from the boat to your motor. It should be kept short enough so that if the motor decided to head back to shore on its own the the rope will keep it from ending up in the drink. Don't ask me how I know this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sawbill

Its hard to tell from your pics but it looks like your motor is attached to the transom on an aluminum covered strip. If this is the case you should make sure you have a safety rope or chain attached from the boat to your motor. It should be kept short enough so that if the motor decided to head back to shore on its own the the rope will keep it from ending up in the drink. Don't ask me how I know this.

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The transom has a a piece of wood on the inside and i think on the outside it sits on the metal of the boat. The wood is caving in a bit where the two bolts screw into it but seems solid for now. Maybe will rig up a rope next time im out just in case.