Hello all, I need to put a small patch on an aluminum boat. Not a huge boat and only used in gentle water so I’m using blind rivets. However, it’s right over one of the ribs, and I’m worried that if I pull both rib rivets at the same time, the rib will pop up off the hull surface and I won’t be able to get it back down without ripping up my whole floor. My solution is to drill one rivet off the rib, secure the rib using some kind of bolt, drill the second rivet, apply the patch, rivet the second side of the rib down, and then pull the bolt so I can rivet the original first side of the rib. That way, there’s always some piece of hardware holding the rib down.
The problem is, I can’t find the right piece of hardware to serve as the “bolt” that holds the rib in place. I was thinking of using like a drywall anchor. Imagine if the rivet hole was a half inch or so. I’d drill out one rivet, put in a drywall anchor with an long piece of threaded rod with a nut on the outside, drill the other rivet, put the patch over the holes, rivet the non-anchored side, and then unthread the rod so the anchor just falls inside of the hull so I can rivet the other side. That would work, I think, for a large hole, because toggle bolts can slip in. But my rivet holes are 3/16”, and I can’t find toggle bolts that are that small.
Does anyone know where I can find anchors that might be small enough to fit into a 3/16 hole (when they’re folded up)? It doesn’t need to be a super strong anchor, just something that can temporarily hold a rib down.
Hopefully that all made sense! The TLDR is that I’m looking for some kind of anchor (drywall or otherwise) that can fit into a 3/16 hole when folded but expands to larger than that after being inserted. Thanks in advance
The problem is, I can’t find the right piece of hardware to serve as the “bolt” that holds the rib in place. I was thinking of using like a drywall anchor. Imagine if the rivet hole was a half inch or so. I’d drill out one rivet, put in a drywall anchor with an long piece of threaded rod with a nut on the outside, drill the other rivet, put the patch over the holes, rivet the non-anchored side, and then unthread the rod so the anchor just falls inside of the hull so I can rivet the other side. That would work, I think, for a large hole, because toggle bolts can slip in. But my rivet holes are 3/16”, and I can’t find toggle bolts that are that small.
Does anyone know where I can find anchors that might be small enough to fit into a 3/16 hole (when they’re folded up)? It doesn’t need to be a super strong anchor, just something that can temporarily hold a rib down.
Hopefully that all made sense! The TLDR is that I’m looking for some kind of anchor (drywall or otherwise) that can fit into a 3/16 hole when folded but expands to larger than that after being inserted. Thanks in advance
