Marine: Boating, Sailing, PWC, GPS and Navigation - Rivets for Grumman aluminum canoe

This forum seems to be directed toward powered boats, and I didn't see a better forum for this thread. If there's a better spot please let me know!

I am fixing up a dented aluminum Grumman canoe. To get at some of the dents I had to remove the aft seat by grinding out the rivets. I also removed the aft bulkhead to remove the styrofoam so I can fix dents there. So to get this thing back together I'm going to need
~ replacement rivets
~ replacement styrofoam
~ replacement sealant / caulk for the screws that secure the bulkhead

I searched online but didn't see sources for these materials. I'm willing to improvise / adapt / apply some ingenuity. For instance, can I use foam construction insulation to replace the styrofoam? Can anyone recommend a source for these items?

Thanks,
Dave O

Hi Dave, certainly not my field, but I do own a Grumman aluminum canoe sofelt obligated to comment. The pink or blue construction foam are closed cell, so no water will soak into them. You will have to glue pieces together to create a block big enough to form into what you need. There may be boat related products available for that purpose.

As for rivits, above the waterline and where only one side shows, the pop rivits should be fine. If you want to install real rivits, a marine supply or hardware store should have some, although hammering them into place might need so how-to from one who has done it, not me.

Good Luck and happy fishing
Bud

I would assume aluminum rivets would be required. Mixing steel rivets and aluminum canoe would lead to galvanic corrosion.

use 3M's 5200 sealant it's great a regular sylicone won't last long.

A regular aluminum rivet will be fine above the water line.

Thanks- I'll check out a marine supply. I was hoping to find aluminum rivets online so there would be no question as to sizing, etc., and they would be the right type. (The reading I did suggests pop-rivets would not be structural.) Some construction insulation products start out as a liquid foam, and expand to fill the space allowed- is that do-able, as long as they are closed cell? Thanks!

I called and spoke to a guy at Grumman Canoes in Marathon NY. He said aluminum or stainless rivets would work, and I've been looking at the McMaster Carr site to find them. They are the same idea and design as pop rivets, but with different shear and tensile strenths.

He also said the foam insulation would work, altho it would have to be applied in stages since it cures in air, and putting it all in at once would leave the insides molten, like bread not baked long enough. Grumman uses a 2-part marine foam that is similar; the Grumman guy said sheets of insulating styrofoam would work too.

Thanks for your responses!