How to repair missing rivets on hull of a Lund

[do it yourselfer]

I have an older Lund and want to replace some missing rivets on the hull. I have already removed the front decking and sub-flooring, but there is a riveted plate covering the cross members to were I want to get to. I need to know where I can get the proper rivet and installation tools befor I start drilling out the good rivets to get to the ones that need to be replaced. Has anyone done this before, and what kind of problems did you run into. My boat is a 1900 Pro-V.Thanks for any help.

[REW]

There are lots of sources for rivets.
You can go to a good industrial supply house, and get them there.
You can contact Lund, and get them direct from Lund.

If you have missing rivets, it could be that you also have oversized holes. Often, I rivet will work a bit, and enlarge the holes that it is mounted in before failing.
If so, it is a good idea to get a box of "oversized" rivets.
These are commonly available to be used for this repair purpose.

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If you have missing rivets, it is also a good idea to talk to Lund before making repairs.
Often, the cause of missing rivets, is overstressed fastners due to:
a. Insufficient rivets.
b. Insufficient bracing in the area of the rivets.

As other posts have suggested, the boats are undergoing continuous improvements. If there are design changes in your boat, such as adding additional internam members, it is likely that the information and source for parts will be available from lund.

In addition to the rivets, get a good air hammer, and bucking tool. Basically the bucking tool, is simply a heavy flat metal tool, used to flatten the rivets.

Also, get a good anvil for your air tool, with a dimple in the anvil, that is sized to the size of your rivet heads to be installed.

Basically, you will be installing the rivets from the outside.
You will be using the air hammer from the outside, with its dimpled anvil on the head of the rivet.

The bucking tool will be held by someone else on the inside of the boat - and will be used to actually flatten the rivet and swage the rivet to the hull.

It is important to rivet the rivet using hammering from the outside of the hull. As the rivet is swaged, it will pull the hull plates together. If you rivet from the inside of the boat; the swaging will tend to push the plates apart.

Take care
REW

[Illini Bob]

Another option is to go to any boat dealer and ask for some 'blind' pop rivets. These will cost you about a quarter a piece and can be applied from the outside of the boat without ripping out anything on the inside of the boat.

Just put some silicone in the hole and 'pop' the rivet in place. The 'blind' pop rivets are sealed on the end(ie blind)and expand inside the hull when 'popped' into place.

This may not be the best solution for high integrity areas but will work for most.

[bountyhunterss]

REW gave you the set up ,IF YOU DO this practice on some offer piece first . better yet take it to rew he sounds like he's been there done IT .jim

[walter]

You have already done most of the work involved by removing the floor. What I would do from here is take it to the dealer and have them do the rivet job. Then give Lund a call as they will probably cover some % of the cost.