Mounting Seat Bases Flush and Other Questions

I have searched and searched but cant quite find exactly what I wanted to. I am replacing the floor in my 1652, I already cut out the boxes and the front bench (here are some picture, right now it is cut to flush with the hull with the rivets still in place. With that being said I guess I actually have more than one question. The first being, with a hand riveter what rivets do I need to be using if I decide to take them out and replace?

Second, I am going back with 2 inch foam under a plywood floor. I was not going to run 1x1 braces on top of the ribs as the 2 inch foam will actually sit about 1/4-1/2" above the ribs, will this be OK and be enough support? 1/2" ply or 3/4"? My plan was to spray or roll the plywood with bedliner and they paint it, will this seal it enough or should I go ahead and spend the money to seal the wood and then roll and paint it? I need the traction as this is a duck boat.

My last question is, I want to mount three seats down the middle of the boat since I removed the ones that were mounted on the benches. Does anyone have any pictures of the best way to mount the seat bases to the plywood so they are sturdy and will not loosen up but still flush with the floor? I looked and looked but just couldn't find any pictures.

Thanks!

One other thing, I wanted to cut about 3/4 of the top of the back bench and turn it into storage but was afraid that if I do that the bench just wont be as sturdy since these benches are not supported by the bottom only by the sides. Any suggestions?

Anyone?

If you want to mount your seats to the floor you need to install some kind of bracing to the floor. A spar urathane is much better than bedliner for water protection.

To mount the seats flush just screw the mounts into the floor which should be high enough since you will have 2" foam under it. Just cut a space in the foam where the mounts will attach.

Using a flap disk in an angle grinder, sand them flush, then use a hammer and pin punch to knock the remainder out. If you drill them out, you run the risk of being slightly off center, and are left with an oblong hole.

As far as putting them back, you'll just need solid rivets. I get mine from Grainger, but you have to have a business account to purchase from them.
https://www.grainger.com/Grainger/s...et|aluminum?withinSearch.x=0&withinSearch.y=0

To set the rivets, you'll need an air hammer, and while I don't often recommend Harbor Freight "tools," the cheap air hammer they have is adequate for doing these occasionally.

You'll need a rivet set in the gun. I get these from Aircraft Spruce.
https://aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php

You'll need a second person and a bucking bar of some sort. A hunk of steel, or a sledge hammer head or such works fine.

To install:
Stick the rivet in the hole, then put the air hammer on the existing rivet head. Have your second person hold the bucking bar on the other side, then squeeze the rivet down.

So I don't need to add any extra bracing underneath for the seat mounts? They will be plenty sturdy? Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure I do it right. I would love to put down aluminum but the old checkbook just isn't fat enough right now :mrgreen:

Thank for the rivet 101 bassboy!

bassboy1 said:

Using a flap disk in an angle grinder, sand them flush, then use a hammer and pin punch to knock the remainder out. If you drill them out, you run the risk of being slightly off center, and are left with an oblong hole.

As far as putting them back, you'll just need solid rivets. I get mine from Grainger, but you have to have a business account to purchase from them.
https://www.grainger.com/Grainger/s...et|aluminum?withinSearch.x=0&withinSearch.y=0

To set the rivets, you'll need an air hammer, and while I don't often recommend Harbor Freight "tools," the cheap air hammer they have is adequate for doing these occasionally.

You'll need a rivet set in the gun. I get these from Aircraft Spruce.
https://aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php

You'll need a second person and a bucking bar of some sort. A hunk of steel, or a sledge hammer head or such works fine.

To install:
Stick the rivet in the hole, then put the air hammer on the existing rivet head. Have your second person hold the bucking bar on the other side, then squeeze the rivet down.

Click to expand...

Do I have to use an air hammer or could I use a regular hammer? Are 1/4" D x 1/2" L round rivets the ones I would need to use? Where is the best place to order them? And another question what about using a sealed (closed end) rivet in a rivet gun with 5200, I saw a couple people were doing that when I searched. Where can you get the sealed rivets and 5200?