Separation of interior at helm from windshield area

T

tavi

New member
I have a 2004 22' Cruiser. When sitting in the V-berth and looking up and aft, there is a joint where the underside of the "dashboard / companionway" is fastened to the forward house, just below the windscreen. These two pieces are connected by what appear to be rivets. Most of mine have sheared off, with the shaft portion of the rivet still visible in the hole, but the heads gone.
Has anyone experience in how to get the old rivets out and new ones installed? I can't see how the ends of the rivets go into the fiberglass above, or into what substrate they are secured. There is a gap of a quarter inch between the two parts, but it is not noticeable in any other way. Is it possible to get the old rivets out and new ones in, would self-tapping screws do any good (if I knew where I was screwing to, or should I consider filling the gap with 5200 and bracing the whole thing up until it cures?
Thanks
 
The bulkhead, console, etc is not structural. Thus it does not have to be connected. For example the entire port side of the bulkhead between the V Bert room and the main saloon has been removed in my boat.

These are "blind rivets"--you can drill the rivets out (biggest problem is that the drill bit grabs into the rivet and spins it instead of destroying the metal. I would just drill out the rivets, and use self trading or course thread pan head screws. The 5200 or any of the 4000 series would work fine.

If the rivets begin to spin, there are a couple of tricks--grab the edges of the rivet body with a pair of needle nose Vise Grips, to keep it form spinning. I have also used carbide tip Dremel tools to remove these rivets. Even with the bulkhead removed, I like to have the "Dash" tray, great for storage, etc. Also this area coming loose suggests that the hull has worked excessively in the past. Pounding into head seas can acerbate this.
 
Thataway, I appreciate your advice on the bulkhead matter, It is good to know that it is not structural. We have plowed into a few head seas in our travels and we have never felt that we were doing any serious damage. We will try the 5200 repair and see what develops. Thanks again!
 
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