BWCA Rivet Size for Wenonah Thwart Boundary Waters Gear Forum
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RainGearRight
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05/10/2017 09:40AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
My single thwart in my Boundary Waters has been rattling around so it's time to tighten it up. Any one have any idea on river size and grip length? If I had to guess I would say 3/16ths x 1/8. Too short?
 
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Alan Gage
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05/10/2017 10:05AM  
Never seen a canoe rivet that wasn't 3/16" diameter. As for length I'm not sure. Should be easy enough to measure the thickness of the thwart. Does it also pass through the hull (what material) or the gunwale?

Alan
 
OldFingers57
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05/10/2017 10:08AM  
I am sure that if you call Wenonah canoe company Customer service they will be more than glad to tell you what size to use. Maybe even send you some.
 
RainGearRight
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05/10/2017 10:13AM  
quote OldFingers57: "I am sure that if you call Wenonah canoe company Customer service they will be more than glad to tell you what size to use. Maybe even send you some. "
http://bwca.co

A 30 second phone call got me the answer. 3/16 x 1/2

quote Alan Gage: "Never seen a canoe rivet that wasn't 3/16" diameter. As for length I'm not sure. Should be easy enough to measure the thickness of the thwart. Does it also pass through the hull (what material) or the gunwale?


Alan


The thwart pinches down and looks like it just rivets to the bottom of the gunnel.
 
Alan Gage
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05/10/2017 11:05AM  
quote RainGearRight: "

The thwart pinches down and looks like it just rivets to the bottom of the gunnel. "


I'd think the thwart should be under 1/8" and the gunwale under 1/16". I'd personally go with something shorter than 1/2". Maybe that's why it started rattling in the first place.

Alan
 
05/18/2017 06:20PM  
The half inch length is fine as the pop rivets will tighten up at about any length but you need to be sure the rivet reaches clear through all pieces before you begin pulling them together with the rivet tool.

Our Wenonah came with aluminum rivets and over time they became a bit loose and began to wear oversize holes. It was recommended to us by a repair shop that we replace the aluminum rivets with stainless steel. I wasn't sure that my rivet tool nor my hands would be strong enough to pull the stainless rivets all the way but I made it. Much stronger than the aluminum ones they replaced.
 
05/18/2017 07:48PM  
I used stainless screws with lockwashers and lock nuts with nylon inserts and put a dab of Loctite Blue (don't use Loctite Red). Drilled out the holes to fit the new screws, which I bought at ACE Hardware. Cost me maybe $10 total. Fixed forever, and if it fails again, all that it means is that I have to drive to ACE again.

Drilling out stainless pop-rivets may not be a fun thing, as it "work hardens". Once you start drilling out a rivet, it just wants to spin in the hole, which makes it difficult to finish drilling it out. ACE has an amazing selection of small screws, nuts, etc.

Tomster
 
ozarkpaddler
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05/19/2017 07:00AM  
Guess I just missed this last week? I don't like the aluminum seat drops in Wenonah boats so I always drill out the rivets and re-rivet the holes. Looks like you got the size? Wenonah sent me a dozen or so for free 2 years ago when I told them what I was doing and asked for their recommendation.

Like quark2222's fix, I prefer bolts over rivets for thwarts too. Sounds like his fix should last for life. If, however, you need any good rivets to attach to aluminum gunwales or to fill holes in aluminum gunwales I would recommend these:
Coated Tri-grip Rivets
I've used them on Wenonah, Nova Craft, Mohawk, Sawyer, and Esquif canoes as well as kayaks. As a matter of fact, I just used them to fill in holes in the gunwale where I removes seats in my Pal. I'll try to post a pic where you maybe can see? First is complete renovation (well, almost, you can't see the gouges that got filled with JB Weld) and second a closeup of the rivet. The tie down tab is in the top hole and the rivet in the rear hole?They seam to be a little "Beefier" than standard rivets?
 
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