anyone ever use aluminum rivnuts for decking and such?

mcmaster carr sells (and i'm sure others do too) aluminum rivnuts. for those who dont know what they are, basically they are rivits that once installed you can thread a bolt into the middle of. I haven't used the aluminum ones but I've used the steel ones and they are very strong. The tension of the bolt actually adds to the tension of the rivet. I would think these would be the perfect solution to the ''dissimilar metals" issue we have when decking or adding accessories. has anyone used them? I think i'm going to order some for my upcoming decking project.

Yes I have used them, and yes they have their place. In my hull, I have a fully accessible wiring chase, by way of a 6 inch wide piece of deck that is screwed on. I have rivnuts for #10 machine screws into the structure below, and then my deck is held on with #10 Oval head screws, through finishing washers.

I don't see, however, the use of them as a solution for dissimilar metals. The only way to eliminate the issue of dissimilar metals is by the use of nonmetalic bushings, as well as a nonmetalic isolator pads (basically rubber between 2 metals, and a bushing around whatever fastener holds it on. Unless you get plastic rivnuts, you still have dissimilar metals. Say your deck is aluminum, and the rivnut is aluminum. Being that both are aluminum, they will be similar. (Yes, different alloys technically are dissimilar, but to a very minor extent that dissimilar corrosion doesn't take place except in the absolute harshest conditions - much worse than any recreational boat will ever see). Now, if you try to use a steel bolt, you still have dissimilar corrosion, but instead of it being between the deck and the bolt, it will be between the rivnut and the bolt.