Thread: advice on using solid Ali rivets

Couple of options - find some ali stemmed rivets but be aware they can end up corroding anyway as the stem is a different grade and treatment to the body which is often enough to start a fizzing. You can disassemble the rivet and coat it in bedding compound (not Sika 291 but the much thinner variant that is more like a silicone sealant but still an elastomeric compound which is better for flexing).

Next is finding a solid ali rivet and setting it with some elastomeric compound - more stuffing about but likely a longer service life.

Final and most bubba-ish is a 316 stainless gutter screw with a thin nylon isolating kit on each side and a good dob of the elastomeric poo. The nylon comes like a little tube with a piece of basically ice cream container lid plastic as the washer on top and bottom - basically these just prevent any electrical contact between the hull and the bolt and help it seal. If you use a nyloc nut it self-locks in position and the benefit of this is that if it starts leaking again you can either tighten it a little or take it out and reseal it... Nut on the inside obviously! On an older hull, you basically just want to keep it going with minimal flexing and risk of cracking or the ali parts wearing against each other any more...