belt trim attachment

[equigley]

I am in the process of renovating a 1971, 23 foot Safari.
After stripping the old clearcoat I have started removing the belt trim for further cleaning. My question is, when reattaching the belt trim would it not be better to use olympic rivets or even stainless steel screws instead of pop rivets so as not to allow possible water entry points to the interior walls and inside the belly pan?

E. Quigley

[Ganglin]

Personally, I'd stick with the rivets. The screws and larger head rivets may eventually show thru your vinyl. If your concerned just dab the head of eacjh rivet eith parbond or alcoa gutter seal. Run a thin bead of either along the top of the rail after it's been reinstalled.

[dwightdi]

They sell sealed pop rivets for repair of aluminum boats. Buy them cheap at any hardware or marine store. Still use the sealer on the top of the trim to prevent dirt accumulating under the trim and making streaks when you wash the unit.

[equigley]

Thanks for the replies. Actually there is nothing left of the original vinyl except for some very small remnants under a few of the rivets. I'm new to this AS renovation and learning every day but I had assumed the vinyl was originaly installed over the rivets (to prevent water from leaking through the center). I don't plan on installing new vinyl which is the reason for my question about using Olympic rivets or screws. Once again I'm really new at this and was not aware of sealed rivets, so that will be "Plan A" if I can find them. If not, I will use the dab of parbond method.

Thanks again for the help.

E Quigley