I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[Decker83]

You don't have to buy all the tools to buck a few rivets.. The proper way is how they did in your research.. They are telling you how to set a new rivet..
The main reason for the tools is to make the rivet swell inside the hole before the buck tail starts to swell.. Your rivets have already been set with the tools..
You just need to buck them to make them tight again.. If you can't use a hammer very well then you hold the bucking tool (BFH) and let someone else tap on
the rivet head.. You don't need to hit the rivet very hard but may need to hit it several times..

 

[BWR1953]

You don't have to buy all the tools to buck a few rivets.. The proper way is how they did in your research.. They are telling you how to set a new rivet..
The main reason for the tools is to make the rivet swell inside the hole before the buck tail starts to swell.. Your rivets have already been set with the tools..
You just need to buck them to make them tight again.. If you can't use a hammer very well then you hold the bucking tool (BFH) and let someone else tap on
the rivet head.. You don't need to hit the rivet very hard but may need to hit it several times..

Awesome input, Decker! Thank you very much. :rockon:

You're right, I was trying to create a "fresh from the start" approach when all I really need is to do is "do the tighten up" on a handful of rivets.

And necessity being the mother of invention, I've come up with my own version of bucking bars! A couple weeks ago while mowing my yard, I ran over a buried tooth from a tractor box blade which was covered with sand and leaves. When it hit the mower blades, it bent one severely. Of course, it was a brand new blade! :facepalm:

So I'm going to grind the tooth and blade smoother and use them as improvisational bucking tools!

Then I'll put my lovely bride to work on hitting the rivets. She has a very steady hand and a light enough touch. :joyous: Not like some big shaky gorilla!

 

[BWR1953]

Took me a bit to find the pic of my rivets for the deck but here they are....





As for that leak up front, I had the same thing. But I didnt mess with the bucking up there. My didnt drip that fast but I just put a good layer of glovit on the inside and I had that outside line grinded pretty clean as well so I put the glovit near my leak marks on the outside also for added comfort. There wasnt a real clear way to tell which rivet it might have been letting the water seep through the seal and I didnt want to buck them all! The following leak test after gluvit was a success and once primed and painted it "should" still be just as water tight.

Every boat is different though especially when 30+ years old!

Those rivets definitely look interesting. Looking forward to seeing your installation pix.

I took some more closeup pix of the bow seam and it's clear that I still missed some cleanup on a couple rivets. Will have to grind those down till they're nice and shiny and make sure that the Gluvit can penetrate correctly there.

Am wondering... should I dig out that old original seam sealer? I'd have to get in there with my Dremel tool in order to do that though. Or should I just goop up a bunch of Gluvit on top of what's already there? Maybe smear some JB Weld in there too?

 

[Watermann]

If the original reddish brown seam sealant is intact and not loosing it's adhesion then the general consensus is to leave it alone and gluvit over it. Just be sure to clean it well and rough it up a bit so the gluvit can get a bite.

 

[BWR1953]

We bucked around the boat a bit this morning. It was noisy, hot and sweaty but fun!

The tractor box blade tooth and mower blade worked pretty well as bucking tools. I reckon we got about half the rivets bucked before it became too uncomfortable to work. Will pick up where we left off the next time we work.

Quite frankly though, I have no idea if we actually made a difference. Yes, we banged the rivets but there's just no way to tell if we actually helped seal anything.

boom.... Boom!... BOOMING!! outside right now though. Time to relax indoors. :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

If the original reddish brown seam sealant is intact and not loosing it's adhesion then the general consensus is to leave it alone and gluvit over it. Just be sure to clean it well and rough it up a bit so the gluvit can get a bite.

Copy that! :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

Man, there must be a million rivets in that boat! :facepalm: :lol:

Had some health issues again yesterday so took the day off from working on the boat and just stayed indoors enjoying the air conditioner. :smow: :encouragement:

But this morning the 3 of us (me, wife & stepson) went back at it and made some more progress. Nearly finished bucking the rivets on the starboard side. Must have done 100 or more so far. Man, there's a lot of rivets in that boat! Did I mention that before? LOL

There was a stretch of rivets about mid-ships on the starboard side of about a dozen rivets that were clearly and obviously loose. When my wife hit a rivet from the outside, I could see the seam completely open up, albeit not a lot. But it was open for sure. Pretty clear that the OEM sealant had dried up and worn out. Rebucked those rivets and things tightened up nicely. Tested them afterward and didn't see any movement. Will also give special attention there when I finally get to applying the Gluvit.

Nice to make progress. Even if it's not as fast as I'd like. :joyous:

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Did you leak test prior to bucking all these rivets? did I miss something here?

 

[BWR1953]

Did you leak test prior to bucking all these rivets? did I miss something here?

Yup. Page 7, Post #99. :joyous:

 

[classiccat]

Addressing loose rivets is a critical step that is often bypassed (outside of the Starmada of course!)

My father and I replaced all of the rivets in a jon boat when I was a kid...using a hammer and a block of steel. I dont remember any rivets leaking (the same cannot be said for the huge stress crack in the integrated-strake :facepalm

Great job and great progress!!! :thumb:

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Yup. Page 7, Post #99. :joyous:

Ok went back and i remember the wet sharpie.

 

[BWR1953]

Addressing loose rivets is a critical step that is often bypassed (outside of the Starmada of course!)

My father and I replaced all of the rivets in a jon boat when I was a kid...using a hammer and a block of steel. I dont remember any rivets leaking (the same cannot be said for the huge stress crack in the integrated-strake :facepalm

Great job and great progress!!! :thumb:

Thanks! I needed a boost today. :joyous: I can't imagine replacing all the millions of rivets in a boat!

Another bad health night last night for me so no work on the boat today. Sigh. :blue:

But I've been researching other stuff related to the fix-up, so I guess that counts for something. And I'm always checking craigslist for motor options.

 

[BWR1953]

Had a great day today! Got a decent nights sleep last night and put in 3 solid hours of work on the boat this morning. Typically we only have about 1 or 2 hours max before the heat forces us back indoors. We got out there earlier today compared to other days. And it was just a bit cloudy this morning too, which kept the heat down and allowed us to keep on rocking. Booyah! :thumb:

Bucked all the remaining marked rivets down tight. I reckon we bucked between 200 and 300 rivets in total. Did a final grinding of all the seams and cleaned 'em up bright and shiny. After that we called it a day and packed everything up as storm clouds started rolling in.

Next step will be to do a final vacuuming of the hull interior and a wash down with 1/2 vinegar and water. Then I'll pull the boat off the trailer and start applying the Gluvit! Woo hoo!

While out running errands today we swung by HD and I checked out several things. They do have some marine ply in stock for $79 per 3/4 x 4 x 8 sheet. Steep but it will have to do. And I'll also get my 10% veteran discount so that'll help.

Checked out those Cloroplast sheets and I'll definitely be buying those to use for the side panels in my Kingfisher. They're plenty strong enough for that purpose and are nice and light. Plus they're UV resistant and paintable. HD only sells them in 72x36 white panels but I know they're available in a variety of colors. Am hoping that I can order some 4' x 8' gray ones without paying outrageous shipping fees. If not, I'll get the white and paint 'em up. Eyeballed some aluminum angle stock as well as some flat stock to use to hold the panels in place.

Then we went over and looked at the pink foam board insulation. The only size I saw at HD was 3/4 x 4 x 8 for the pink stuff. Looks like it'll work but I'll also go to Lowes and check out their options. I believe they have some 2" blue foam board over there.

Plus we checked out the 1 5/8 stainless deck screws and I will definitely be using those to secure my deck flooring back into place when the time comes. I like the idea of being able to easily remove the deck if I need to for some reason.

Sooo... a great day today! Got good work done in the hull and also went boat supply shopping.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Those are the days that feel really good at the end! Im hoping for that feeling tomorrow and Sunday. My HD is iffy on the pink stuff. Ive looked several times and never saw 2"ers but the last time I went to actually settle for the 1" and 1/2"ers they were loaded with the 2". Their aluminum is high priced too, so if there are any other metal shops in your area I would try and price them out. I broke and paid the High price for what had to get. Its usally on impulse.

I washed mine with dishsoap and water until the very end right before painting did I use the vinegar wash down.

 

[BWR1953]

Those are the days that feel really good at the end! Im hoping for that feeling tomorrow and Sunday. My HD is iffy on the pink stuff. Ive looked several times and saw 2"ers but the last time I went to actually settle for the 1" and 1/2"ers they were loaded with the 2". Their aluminum is high priced too, so if there are any other metal shops in your area I would try and price them out. I broke and paid the High price for what had to get. Its usally on impulse.

I washed mine with dishsoap and water until the very end right before painting did I use the vinegar wash down.

Good point on the aluminum price! There are a couple of aluminum shops nearby here. One of which I was planning on checking about getting an aluminum plate for the back side of the transom to replace the 1/4" plywood there on the stern. I'll check their prices for the angle and flat stock as well. Thanks!

 

[BWR1953]

...I washed mine with dishsoap and water until the very end right before painting did I use the vinegar wash down.

So the vinegar treatment isn't needed in order to apply the Gluvit?

 

[BWR1953]

Made a ton of progress today! Got the final cleanup done inside the hull... sweeping, vacuuming, washing and drying. That hull is cleaner than it's been for the last 40 years since it was built! :thumb: Of course, just driving it around my yard caused a chunk of that rotted transom to just pop out. Will get that bit cleared up too.

Then we got the boat pulled off the trailer and it's finally now on the ground ready for the next step. And the next step is to apply the Gluvit! Woo hoo! Am sooo ready for that. :rockon:

Progress pix attached!

 

[g0nef1sshn]

So the vinegar treatment isn't needed in order to apply the Gluvit?

I dont think so. Vinegar wash more for the bonding of the paint etching primer to the bare aluminum as far as I know. Someone more experienced should chime in. I only used it outside for paint. And scrubbed inside clean with soap before gluvit. I did wash outside several times with soap before the vinegar wash down also.

Awesome progress by the way!

 

[Watermann]

I used the Heinz cleaning vinegar pretty much any place that needed cleaned and it's acid helps neutralize alkaline effects of corrosion. I put the Heinz in a spray bottle and scrubbed pretty much everything AL with it. Finished off rinsing with fresh water. Before I SE primered I wiped the surface down again with the Heinz cleaning vinegar.Yeah it is normally used for setting up an acid environment for the SE primer but certainly won't hurt the gluvit's adhesion to have a clean surface.

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks guys! Nice to be making progress. :joyous:

Nothing happening with the boat today though. A storm front is rolling in with 100% chance of rain and accumulations of 2 to 3 inches. Supposed to rain tomorrow as well. Didn't want to take a chance applying Gluvit and then having the rains come. So we went out and flipped the boat over and covered it again. Don't want it filling with water!

We're supposed to have clear weather for 3 days in a row starting in 48 hours, so hopefully I can get in there and Gluvit that bad boy then.