How to replace rivets on a FB boat?

Joolz

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2015
Messages
211
The soft top in my 15' FB boat is attached by pressing rivets together. Several are missing from the fiberglass. Is there a tool/kit or some way for the do-it-yourselfer to replace these or must I bring the whole boat to an upholstery shop? Would rather do it myself but no idea where even to buy rivets from (and these need to match the ones on the soft top). Including a couple of pics showing a good rivet and a few of the missing ones, to give an idea of the base looks like. If anyone has done this and can provide a bit of guidance, that'd be great.
 

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AShipShow

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 8, 2016
Messages
1,803
In the cases where the front popped off, you install with new pop rivets, but in the one case in your picture where it looks like the rivet pulled through and the hole looks larger, you might need to use a screw and nut on the backside with a washer.
 

Joolz

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2015
Messages
211
Hi, you were spot on. I stopped by an auto upholstery shop and spoke to the owner, showing him the pics above in an iPad and even brought the window with me. He described the process as you suggested, including removing the foam in order to add a washer to the inside of where the bigger hole is. There's about 3" of foam that I'll have to remove but doesn't seem to be too bad, as access to it isn't bad.

He said I could just buy a riveting tool and offered to sell me the snaps for a few bucks but I think I'll just bring them the boat and let them do the install as the cost would be virtually the same if I were to buy the material (around 30 bux). He also said I should remove the snaps that are loose as these will eventually fail. I don't have a metal drill bit so I may just let them handle this, as there are only 3 loose ones on the opposite side of the boat. For the low cost of repairing these, might as well let the experts handle it. I realize that not much skill is needed to install rivets but well, I'd only have one chance to get it right as I don't want to wreck the fiberglass. For the low cost, why not. They're close to home anyway.

For anyone searching this site for replacing broken/missing snaps, try to pay a visit to a local auto upholstery shop. Thanks for the reply above.
 
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