screwing into kayaks

[Adelito]

i have a sit on top.... and no hatches..... i want to screw some cleats into the side of my kayak.... and i want to know the best way of doing so...... they are small cleats.... can i just use regular screws and seal them ??????

[Fis_Hunter]

Use a pop rivit they hold better and you don't have to worry about them coming out. I picked up a bunch at a local kayak shop. The ones I got opened up wider than the ones from the hardware store so they will take more stress. I also put a little silicone on the rivit to make sure it was water tight. Make sure that you position the cleat so the stress is in line with both rivits and it is not pulling the cleat sidewayse.

[jeeper07]

Sorry.....read it wrong.....I thought you were trying to figure out how to "screw" in a kayak.

Go for pop rivets if you can. If not, use silicone on the screw hole.

[settingsteel]

rivets is the way to go, if you go with screws use 5200 on the threads and silicone the bottom of the cleat, West Marine has some polycarbonate cleats that might fit the bill.

[bluesquids]

This is the kind ....
http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=75
But now that I think about it, the cleat being tall probabaly has too much thickness for the rivets to work.
You really need bolts of the proper length, washers and nuts.
You'd have to install a hatch to be able to do that.
Another idea would be to bore out the hole on the cleat so the rivet could go down into it deeper.
I don't think plain screws would give much holding strength.

[Otis Driftwood]

This is the best way to go.

http://topkayaker.net/TopKayakerShop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_16&products_id=142&zenid=9cbb0b6eebc32784012e3c8b167b4b80

You can reuse thme and they come in different lenghts.
they hold very well and seal the hole themselves.
check your harware store before you spend $15 at the link.

[yaudon]

instead of using 5200 which is great, use marine goop instead. it is more rubber based and will seal better than 5200 for plastic/kayak use. also rivets, get the stainless steel ones or aircraft type rivets.

[bluesquids]

This is the best way to go.

http://topkayaker.net/TopKayakerShop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_16&products_id=142&zenid=9cbb0b6eebc32784012e3c8b167b4b80
.

Personally, I did not care for these. You have to drill a much bigger hole in the kayak to insert the wellnut. If the kayak hull and the mounting item combined are too thick for the wellnut it won't grab at all. Make sure to get the longest ones available if you go this route.
see here...http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=fstn

[Siebler]

The problem with rivets is that most places will not stock a rivet that is long enough to hold. For those who do not know me, this is what I do for a living, rigging kayaks.

My suggestion is either install a hath and do bolts with nylock washers or use wellnuts. Wellnuts seal well and will hold better than a tapping screw. We have the Wellnuts at OEX and also online at KayakFishingSupplies.com

You can use any of the wellnuts that are long enough to get through the hull and then expand. Then just get a longer bolt to thread into it since your cleat will take away from bolt length.