Hull Riveting Tools and Supplies

[CJM]

I've read all the threads I can find on what to buy. What I am curious about is if any of the advice has changed with time.

I'm looking to build my own hull. I'm planning to use 6061 T6 and I'm looking to rivet the boat together.

What gun(s) should I buy?
What rivets should I buy?
Where should I buy materials for the best value?
What are the current suppliers for aluminum sheet and t bar?
What dimensions of T bar is everyone using nowadays?

Thanks in advance.

 

[John Fenner]

You want a 4X gun.
Will need a flat set, a 470 set sized to shoot deck rivets.
An426adxxx flat head rivets.
An470adxxx brazier head rivets.
Aircraft Spruce is my go to for supplies, rivets, hardware etc.
Look up Town and Country for material.
1-1/2×1-1/2×3/16 T-bar.

Why 6061-T-6? 7075-T6 is much stronger.
Where will you have it bent and to what dimensions?
There are a lot of things involved in building a hull.

 

[Gary S]

Plus a whole bunch of clecos. I second the 7075.

 

[John Fenner]

Plus a whole bunch of clecos. I second the 7075.

Plus a whole bunch of vice grips.

 

[Slidin Gator]

I've read all the threads I can find on what to buy. What I am curious about is if any of the advice has changed with time.

I'm looking to build my own hull. I'm planning to use 6061 T6 and I'm looking to rivet the boat together.

What gun(s) should I buy?
What rivets should I buy?
Where should I buy materials for the best value?
What are the current suppliers for aluminum sheet and t bar?
What dimensions of T bar is everyone using nowadays?

Thanks in advance.

CJM,

Some of my riveting experience and info is posted on the threads below if you didn't find. Not nearly as concise as John's info

You will find that I concur with the above, if you are riveting the hull don't use 6061 sheeting go all the way and use 7075-T6. If worried about corrosion use 7075 Alclad. 6061-T6 for all the structural shapes, but 7075 sheet.

Primary use in Salt water is a different story.

Shadoobie, Shattered Shattered

My son found a long forgotten 8" corner post last weekend, it was sitting about 8" out of the mud, disguised as weeds. The Stones wrote a song about it.

southernairboat.com

Stossel Palm Beach Hull Riveted Rake Cap Replacement

We had to replace the rake caps on the Ghost after one season. Normally on a Stossel hull the rake caps are 0.06" stainless. The rake cap is a piece of flat formed into an angle shape, but at about 120 degrees vs. 90. This picture shows 1/2 of the completed project. This hull was...

southernairboat.com

 

[CJM]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I was going for 6061-T6 simply because the boat will see a brackish environment, primarily. I also called around to a bunch of different builders and noticed that they primarily build with 6061 T6 for salt marsh use. Some examples of people I messaged or spoke with were Ronnie Shears, Little George and Keith Hancock to name a few. They all had wait lists beyond a year and I figured instead of waiting that long I can just start a project to build my own.

I'm not familiar with ALCAD and didn't come up with much online as far as saltwater corrosion resistance. I'm keeping the boat on a trailer at home and so I'm not even sure that matters. Tell me more about it.

 

[CJM]

You want a 4X gun.
Will need a flat set, a 470 set sized to shoot deck rivets.
An426adxxx flat head rivets.
An470adxxx brazier head rivets.
Aircraft Spruce is my go to for supplies, rivets, hardware etc.
Look up Town and Country for material.
1-1/2×1-1/2×3/16 T-bar.

Why 6061-T-6? 7075-T6 is much stronger.
Where will you have it bent and to what dimensions?
There are a lot of things involved in building a hull.

John thanks for the list. That's what i needed. I called magnum about bends because I think that's who my Dad used to use when we lived down south, but between price and me living in North Central FL now I figured I might have to figure out an alternative.

 

[Slidin Gator]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I was going for 6061-T6 simply because the boat will see a brackish environment, primarily. I also called around to a bunch of different builders and noticed that they primarily build with 6061 T6 for salt marsh use. Some examples of people I messaged or spoke with were Ronnie Shears, Little George and Keith Hancock to name a few. They all had wait lists beyond a year and I figured instead of waiting that long I can just start a project to build my own.

I'm not familiar with ALCAD and didn't come up with much online as far as saltwater corrosion resistance. I'm keeping the boat on a trailer at home and so I'm not even sure that matters. Tell me more about it.

Sorry about the mis-spell, AL-CLAD 7075-T6 is what I should have posted (just edited previous). Basically the high strength 7075 sheet is made a bit shy of the finished dimensions and then both sides are "Clad" with a thin layer of lower strength, higher corrosion resistant aluminum (5000 series I believe??). For a given thickness it is a bit lower strength than pure 7075 but improved surface corrosion protection. You may even find that it comes in cheaper vs. straight 7075.

If you are primarily running brackish/salt water, riveted 6061-T6 is a good compromise solution as long as you are good with some weight gain. The yield strength of 6061 is about 50% of 7075, but it is significantly more corrosion resistant. You can also get 6061 in wider/longer sheets depending on your hull plans.

0.125" thick 6061 would be my recommended minimum vs. 0.100 in 7075.

 

[John Fenner]

Alclad is a pure aluminum coating on the alloy, if you go with 7075-T6 alclad sheeting, once all is mocked up, drilled, countersunk, cleaned, apply zinc chromate primer "if you can find it" to the sheet where the stringers, transom, chine rails will be, before gluing "contact cement" and riveting, this will add protection, once assembled to a floatable hull, coat everything with the zinc primer.
There is a sacrificial metal, "like a zinc bar on an ocean boat" but the metal type escapes me at the moment, Gerald Motes "Old Glory camp" told me of it, order plastic drain plugs, brass plugs will accelerate corrosion due to dissimilar metals.

 

[UnoWho]

Alclad is a pure aluminum coating on the alloy, if you go with 7075-T6 alclad sheeting, once all is mocked up, drilled, countersunk, cleaned, apply zinc chromate primer "if you can find it" to the sheet where the stringers, transom, chine rails will be, before gluing "contact cement" and riveting, this will add protection, once assembled to a floatable hull, coat everything with the zinc primer.
There is a sacrificial metal, "like a zinc bar on an ocean boat" but the metal type escapes me at the moment, Gerald Motes "Old Glory camp" told me of it, order plastic drain plugs, brass plugs will accelerate corrosion due to dissimilar metals.

Sacrificial Anodes FAQs

Q. What do sacrificial anodes do? A. All metals immersed in an electrolyte (sea water for example) produce an electrical voltage. When two dissimilar metals are in contact (electrically connected) they produce a galvanic cell (like a battery), with the less noble metal (a bronze propeller for...

performancemetals.com

 

[CJM]

Alclad is a pure aluminum coating on the alloy, if you go with 7075-T6 alclad sheeting, once all is mocked up, drilled, countersunk, cleaned, apply zinc chromate primer "if you can find it" to the sheet where the stringers, transom, chine rails will be, before gluing "contact cement" and riveting, this will add protection, once assembled to a floatable hull, coat everything with the zinc primer.
There is a sacrificial metal, "like a zinc bar on an ocean boat" but the metal type escapes me at the moment, Gerald Motes "Old Glory camp" told me of it, order plastic drain plugs, brass plugs will accelerate corrosion due to dissimilar metals.

Thanks John. I hear he's in the hospital at the moment. I'll get in touch with him when he's done harassing the nurses.

 

[CJM]

Sorry about the mis-spell, AL-CLAD 7075-T6 is what I should have posted (just edited previous). Basically the high strength 7075 sheet is made a bit shy of the finished dimensions and then both sides are "Clad" with a thin layer of lower strength, higher corrosion resistant aluminum (5000 series I believe??). For a given thickness it is a bit lower strength than pure 7075 but improved surface corrosion protection. You may even find that it comes in cheaper vs. straight 7075.

If you are primarily running brackish/salt water, riveted 6061-T6 is a good compromise solution as long as you are good with some weight gain. The yield strength of 6061 is about 50% of 7075, but it is significantly more corrosion resistant. You can also get 6061 in wider/longer sheets depending on your hull plans.

0.125" thick 6061 would be my recommended minimum vs. 0.100 in 7075.

At this point, it's looking like 7075 T6 is double the cost - now i see why some guys are charging $1,500.00 per foot.

I may be financially restricted to 6061T6 due to budget but I'll have to finish planning everything out to know for sure. Lots of phone calls left to make.

 

[John Fenner]

Dm sent

 

[John Fenner]

At this point, it's looking like 7075 T6 is double the cost - now i see why some guys are charging $1,500.00 per foot.

I may be financially restricted to 6061T6 due to budget but I'll have to finish planning everything out to know for sure. Lots of phone calls left to make.

Do it right once, will never have to redo it later.

 

[Slidin Gator]

At this point, it's looking like 7075 T6 is double the cost - now i see why some guys are charging $1,500.00 per foot.

I may be financially restricted to 6061T6 due to budget but I'll have to finish planning everything out to know for sure. Lots of phone calls left to make.

Double the cost for the sheet is not unreasonable, but in the grand scheme it does not add much to the build cost. 1 year ago I spent $615 for a single sheet of 0.100 4'x12' sheet of 7075-T6. 3 sheets normally do it unless you are building a monster.

Do it right once, will never have to redo it later.

Nothing lasts forever but I'm pretty satisfied with the starting condition of my latest rebuild build of a 35 year old 7075 hull. I'm pretty satisfied with the life given that it spent 25+ years as a daily spray boat on a Lousianna gator farm, with plenty of brackish and saltwater action.

Honestly, I don't give corrosion too much consideration on a trailer queen. Just park her with the bow up so the water can drain out between hull and poly. I can beat the hell out of a lesser hull before corrosion ruins a riveted 7075 hull.

CJM,

This thread (eventually) gets into the 35 year old hull I'm working on now.

I'm Building 2 Stossel Boats with High Torque Motors