Deck door rivets on Bass Tracker

[hppops]

Several deck doors on my Tracker have broken off with sheared rivets. After drilling out the old rivet it appears that the mounting flange for the deck door hinge butts up against the deck board on the back side so a pop rivet doesn't have room to expand on the back side. Should I just use a stainless steel screw to fasten the deck lid hinge to the deck? Is this a common problem with Trackers? I can't remember the exact year of this boat but I think it is around a 2005 model and I would not expect to see so many failed deck lids on it.

 

[ilovevintage81]

Re: Deck door rivets on Bass Tracker

Just look at it and see what will work

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Deck door rivets on Bass Tracker

They're actually called hatch covers, and yes Tracker uses cheap open end blind (pop) rivets that become loose and break.

I switched over to stainless steel 10/24x1/2" pan head machine screws and nyloc nuts on all of my hatch covers and it makes the covers more secure and removal easier:


Yes, the decking has to be removed to access the screws that fasten the hinge to the deck:

... but decking removal is easy on Trackers because the fasteners are installed exposed through the carpet. You just have to feel around through the carpet pile to find them all.

I've removed the decking out of my Tracker twice:

... and you don't have to mess anything up to do it. It all comes apart with a screw gun and goes back together just like it came out and no one will ever be able to tell that you've had it taken apart.