I'll look around. The original rig looked like this one:Here's how SCOUT turned out, Tex Hill's number on the side.
PS We need a sail rig for her. Anyone got a lead on the sailing rig for a Grumman 17? Gunter rig, leeboards and rudder?
Wow, impressed with your speedy reply to a restorer in need! I think the rivets I tried must be stainless. Next to the aluminum trim rivets I have they look shiny. The pic shows first the coaming rivet I tried, then the partially expanded barrel (with sealant on it) of same rivets, then comparison of material with the known aluminum rivet for trim. Even with two hands, a new gun, rocking, and all my strength I could not ‘pop’ the rivets. I imagine stainless rivets are harder to cut (?) but don’t know why they don’t cut at all!Hi BB
I'd call Sunfish Direct, I've chatted and emailed with them and I know they can do better than that. Sounds like an "Oops" to me. Now that said, Learning Lesson for me was to order two packs and have spares, somethimes a rivet mandrel snaps early and I have to drill it out to put in another, so best to have spares, just like buying extra washers and stopnuts when putting in inspection ports, I only needed to loose a stopnut once inside the hull to learn that.
If you know the barrel is compressed and the rivet is tight, but the shank doesn't break, rock the gun gently side to side and the shank will break eventually. Use a small file to remove any burrs, all coaming and trim rivets should be checked for that.
If rivets appear to be stainless vs aluminum, throw them away. Aluminum looks dull with a brushed finish, stainless are shiny bright, almost chrome finish. They are near impossible to remove, and they cause mighty dissimilar metal corrosion when used on the aluminum trim. I have not so silently cursed strangers who did that to our poor resto boats :/
The handle is hard to hard to squeeze, a 2 handed affair.
Since we do a lot of boats I researched the size and bought a pack of 50 from The Rivet Gallery, you have enough boats that you might invest in that.
View attachment 32065
We need a picture of work in progress to properly assess the situation. And it helps to know the boat's name
I like the touch up paint idea as well, we use a paint cup to spray out a bit of paint into a puddle, then use a cheapo art brush like the ones that came with the kiddos watercolor sets. We grade our paint jobs on the Foot Rule as well, like how close can you get before you can tell it is painted. MERCI was about a "3" other than the fact that Sunfish never came in this Army Air Corps paint scheme.
Another idea is to give a constellation name to each grouping of spots, add a few points of light if needed, one of them is almost Ursa Major.
Last idea, name the boat SPOT. And if you decide to paint, lots of knowledge here in the group about tips and tactics to get a nice finish.
She's a beautiful boat and we are glad to see you restoring her!
Cheers
Kent and Audrey
PS Pressure washing can peel off gelcoat as well, so be careful out there sports fans, unless you are already planning a complete sand/fair/prime/paint on a derelict hull (insert MERCI car wash photo here...)
MERCI's Log
Three of these were to fly across the Atlantic—quoting:Once cured, TotalSeal is sandable and paintable. You probably know, sometimes you can trim that with an xacto, and it might peel without taking the paint with it. Be curious to see how you tackle it. Gratuitous boat pic follows...Herreshoff built the hull...
Stainless pop-rivets appear as a polished silver color, while aluminum appears as a brushed-grey color. In weight, they feel different in the hand—especially a full box.Stainless rivets are much harder to pop and cheap rivet guns usually aren't up to the task. Stainless rivets will "feel" heavier where aluminum pop much easier and feel "very light" in weight. If you don't have both to compare weights it can be tough, but the two side by side, no mistaking.
I'd call Sunfish Direct, I've chatted and emailed with them and I know they can do better than that. Sounds like an "Oops" to me. Now that said, Learning Lesson for me was to order two packs and have spares, somethimes a rivet mandrel snaps early and I have to drill it out to put in another, so best to have spares, just like buying extra washers and stopnuts when putting in inspection ports, I only needed to loose a stopnut once inside the hull to learn that.
My soon-to-be-for-sale Sunfish needed its splashguard (re)painted blue—plus its fractures and blemishes refurbished.Once cured, TotalSeal is sandable and paintable. You probably know, sometimes you can trim that with an xacto, and it might peel without taking the paint with it. Be curious to see how you tackle it.