wood gunnel's

I have to replace the wood gunnel's on a 1955 12 foot Arkansas Traveler. I have removed the old ones and have no idea how to start the replacement. I can not find rivets big enough. I have no idea what wood to use or if I should wood at all. Thank you

Check out this site for rivets/fasteners. https://www.mcmaster.com
And if you can't find what you need there, check https://www.aircraftspruce.com

Between the two, you should be able to find ANYTHING you need.

perfect thanks for the help. any ideas on the materials I should use?

I have seen 1x2s used for gunnels.They were bolted every 8 inches with ss hardware.You could also uses 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 x 1/8 inch angle to make them.You could also use ss hardware to bolt them down.

the problem is my boat has a v in the front. I do not think I could get wood to make the turn

Wet towel wrapped around the wood,as you bend it around press it with a hot clothes iron.This is as close to steam bending as you can get.

Wrap the wood with a towel and pour boiling water on the towel.

lckstckn2smknbrls said:

Wrap the wood with a towel and pour boiling water on the towel.

Click to expand...

That works to but it's easier to get burnt.

you can build a homemade steamer out of a long piece of pvc pipe, crawfish type boiler and a duct work to direct the steam into the pipe. takes about an hour or so, lots of info on that subject on the internet.

use some oven mitts to remove it and then a heck of a lot of c clamps to bend it into shape, go slowly

I would use white oak, not the red stuff from the home centers. Also use aluminum fasteners like rivets not stainless. another option is the extruded plastic type lumber, I've seen this and it looks pretty good, especially on a utility type boat.

I've also had good luck resawing it thinner on the band saw, planer, the gluing up a laminate.

I have seen seen the pvc lumber. I liked the idea that it will last forever and easy installation. The stuff I saw was very flexible and wondered if it would be strong enough? Also I wondered if it would hold paint? I only have a 6 hp engine, how much strength do I need?