How to attach plywood deck to Lund Rebel tiller?

[randys]

16' 1995 Lund Rebel, tiller config., open floor plan with no bench seats.

Current carpeted deck is to be replaced. Deck attached with 50 wide-head rivits that pass through carpet, deck and stringer surface (factory original). I understand that I will use the old deck piece as an outline template for cutting-to-shape the plywood for the new deck.

New deck will be sealed with epoxy and fabric. I may use rivits or stainless screws to hold the new deck to stringers.

When ready to attach new deck piece to stringers, I'd like to avoid using chalk line marks placed on the top, and drilling through new deck to make new holes into the stringer top surfaces.
Question: Do you think I could match up the holes in the new deck piece to match the current rivit holes in the stringers?

While I have the old deck clamped as a template to the new deck piece, I could also use a drill guide and the original holes to drill perpendicular rivit (or screw) holes through the new piece.

Would this not work due to flexing of the new deck, boat hull expansion, etc., never getting all 50 holes to match up correctly? Or is matching to the original holes a common way of mounting the new deck piece? Stick with chalk line, and make new holes?

Thanks for your comments!

 

[chargerboy]

Re: How to attach plywood deck to Lund Rebel tiller?

Alternatively to the chalk line, you could draw a straight line with a children's washable marker, lay the screws, and give it a light scrub with a magic eraser or a sponge when you're done, and the lines will go away.

 

[randys]

Re: How to attach plywood deck to Lund Rebel tiller?

Thank you for your reply. It's not the marker material on top of the deck that bugs me. It is the process of using a chalk line (or child's magic marker) I want to avoid. (I want to use the old stringer rivit holes with holes in the new deck plywood.) No new holes through the stringers.

The index marks on the side of boat (above deckline) are made out of line with the stringers; hoping my helper does not make an error while holding the other end of the line at the index mark; drilling new hole that runs into old stringer hole; less mess dropped under deck if pre-drilled.

The concept of using the original rivit holes in the stringers runs parallel with the option to easily pull the floor in case of hull damage. Example: Drill out the exposed rivits with minimal damage to carpet/vinyl/GatorTuff, remove deck with mostly-undamaged flooring still attached, remove rivit fragments, repair hull puncture, resecure deck with replacement (inexpensive) rivits. To do so would require that I be able to match up replacement rivits with holes currently in aluminum stringers. If I lay carpet/vinyl/GatorTuff over the top of rivits (or screws), then I must rip up flooring before removing deck.

So. Can I reproduce the rivit hole pattern of the original deck onto the new deck plywood, and use the original stringer rivit holes to secure the new deck? Does anybody do it that way?

 

[chargerboy]

Re: How to attach plywood deck to Lund Rebel tiller?

Sorry for my misunderstanding. I think that you have a good chance of getting all the holes to work, but you'd better have lots of patience... and beer. Lining up 50 rivets is going to be a challenging task. There will be some minor flexing, all it takes is 1/8th of an inch movement and you're off the mark everywhere.

My opinion is: give it a shot, if it doesn't work, you can always fill the holes back up with epoxy and re-drill everything. Just my two cents, maybe somebody else will be able to direct you otherwise.

Best of luck to you and your boat!