Hello all-

First of all - I apologize as I am pretty sure this topic has been discussed before!

With that said, can anyone please tell me if its possible to replace a boat rivet from underneath - rather than having to tear the floor off!

I was out tonight - and the boat had a huge leak. I out it away for the Winter and it was relatively dry.

When I trailered the boat - I saw an obvious stream coming from under the drivers seat area. I looked under and sure enough there was a rivet completely missing.

My next question is can one missing rivet cause a boat to take on that much water?? When I put it in the garage i couldnt see any other water drips - other than the one coming from the rivet - its just hard for me to believe that much water can come from 1 rivet.

So, I was hoping for an easy fix - replace one rivet! But does that mean I have to take the whole floor off!! arrrrrrgh.

If it helps the boat is a 1993 16 foot Lund Rebel.

Thanks for any and all help!!!!

They make a waterproof aluminum pop rivet. It would be fine to use these if your just replacing one here and there.

I'd do as Frank mentions above as well. It should do the trick.

The worst case scenario is that it doesn't and you have to pull the floor anyway, so why not give it a shot.

When you say "that much water" how much are we talking about here - over the floorboards in the boat, filled the bilge, etc?

I think a missing rivet hole would allow for a lot of water to be taken on, especially depending on how long you were in the water.

marine_man

Agree with marine man and surface tension. Hallbergs sells what they term a leak proof pop rivet. I'm sure other shops have them to. Try and figure out what size hole it is and how deep of a rivet you'll need before you go with gas prices could save you two trips. Might want to buy a couple extra ones just in case and keep them in the boat. Had a rivet go out on a 6 year old lund and it was amazing how much it leaked. A salesman from Rapid told me about the leak proof pop rivets. Put some silicone up the hole then just popped the rivet in. She hasn't leaked a drop in a couple years.

Good luck with it.

Yes to the above rivets!The body of the rivet is solid no holes but butyl rubber on the rivet before installing helps the seal.

Basically, the water will come in just as fast as it will drain out. So if you had your boat in the water for an hour and it leaked the whole time, it should take an hour for the water to drain out (assuming you didn't lose some water due to bilge pump or running on plane, etc).

Hey guys thanks for all the great input.

I will check those pop rivets out. Can anyone tell me what these things are like?? Is this a difficult procedure to do?? Keep in mind I am not mechanically inclined at all!!
Do you need a special tool - I guess I would love to know just how they work?

The boat leaked pretty good - we did just put the bilge on and were able to keep fishing. i am thinking it must be this one rivet because the boat was running pretty dry when I put it away in the Fall.

Ona different note - someone told me Lund had a "lifetime" warranty on the hull...do you think that would include these rivets?? I called Rapid this morning - and they said if I had to take the floor off it would take about 10 hours of work! Thats crazy for one rivet!! Why in the heck would they make the boat this way - so hard to fix one simple rivet. makes me thing that next time around i will be going all welded hull.

Liquid Solder will be a good temp fix. You can tap it out when you get the rivet.

Menards sells a standard pop rivet gun for pretty cheap. All you do is put it on the rivet and squeeze it a couple times till the rivet pops. Should be some kind of instructions on the package.

As for pulling the floor for one rivet I've been told that also. I don't know anyone in his right mind who would go through ten hours of work or pay for 10 hours of work to fix one rivet unless it's a brand new boat under warranty. Wish more dealers would tell people about the leak proof rivets when they come in and say I have one leaky rivet but I'm sure it cuts into profits and there's a liability issue there some where. Would save the common guy a ton of frustration and time.
Think of all the boats out there and all the other guys who've had the same problem with the millions of rivets in the country holding boats together. I still like rivets better than welds but just an opinion. Welds are a bit harder to fix and more costly IMO when they break.

Drill a hole in the bottom of a coffee can and hold it 6" in the water. See how fast the water comes in. Yes one missing rivet will let a lot of water in.

Use a drill bit as a gauge to size the hole. Look up rivets or fasteners in the yellow pages. Call and ask for water proof pop rivets in the correct size. You'll need a cheap $10 pop rivet tool from Menards.

Hopefully the rivet was just a fluke and the rivets next that one are OK.

Google Grainger Industrial Supply,under fasteners go to rivets,Lot easier than looking around here I've only found standard rivets if anyone even carries them.Bout 5-6 days from order you'll have em in any size made.there is also charts that show what legnth and how to figure it.

yeah - when i called the boat places yesterday they all said they wouldnt fix it from the outside due to liability reasons. They al;l said they could sell me a rivet and I could do it myself. I did a lot of google searching last night ans actually found a site that had a movie showing how the pop rivet works - look svery easy and simple and i also googled the Northern supply place and they have the rivet guns and rivets for not that much - I think the gun and a pack of various sized rivets will only set me back about 30 bucks total. I am going to take your advice and keep this rivet gun in the boat with some extra rivets just in case. i am going to canada for 5 days in June and its a rough road those last few miles and i could just see another rivet popping. My only worry is that when I get to actually doing the rivet part is that the 2 pieces of metal that need to be riveted are close enough together so that the rivet catches them both...I guess if I just place the rivet through the first piece of metal and it doesnt catch the 2nd piece - it will still be OK if it pinches tight - basically it will just work like a "plug" at that point. I plan on doing this tomorrow and I am going to fill up the boat with the garden hose first in the morning to see if I have any other leaks or just the one area. Then I will fix the rivet and fill it up again to see if it is still leaking...
One last thing....should I put some kind of sealant on the rivet too?
I hope thats the only leak - when I looked under there the other night the other rivets looked tight - but its hard to tell until you do the water test. I will post tomorrow or Sunday the results - thanks again!!!!

You shouldn't need any type of seal. You will see that the rivets come in different lengths. Do something to figure out how long of a rivet you need. If the pieces of metal are a bit seperated the rivet should pull them together. Just make sure you have one that's long enough and that you get it all the way in before you start to squeeze on the rivet gun. It's a one shot deal and so if you screw it up you'll have to drill it out and try again. Finally, try and use a rivet made out of the same material. If it is aluminum that you're working with be sure to use an aluminum rivet. Otherwise you'll get bi-metalic corrosion and it will fail - probably in about 15 years. If the kit doesn't have the right rivet go and buy some. They only cost a few bucks a box.

Menards sells a back washer that helps. It wont help you if your floor is still on but if the floor is off you apply them to the non rivet gun side. That kit you found at northern can be purchased at Menards for 15 bucks but you will need probably the 1/2 inch rivet that does not come with the gun. The extra rivets are only about 2 bucks but they are not leak proof as mentioned in this thread.

Just to make the things a little more difficult for you.

Boat rivets are aluminum with a stainless steel shank, so they will not corrode, otherwise your job will have to be done again few years later.

Ok, I can expect some foul language now or some nasty email, I will understand