Riveting technique

[Chadd Hamilton]

This topic has been discussed a bit in other posts, but I still need some help.

I am building a Feather Pram and will fasten it with rivets. The fastening schedule for this pram is 2 rivets between every rib(bent in after the boat has been turned). There are 15 ribs to this this hull.

My techniques in the past has been:
After laying the garboard plank(s) I mark the positions where each rib go along the length of the hull. I use these marks as a point of reference putting two rivets between each mark. As the next planks is laid, I take a light batten and bend it down over the next plank land and again mark the positions of the ribs. I've found this technique to lend itself to slightly wavy vertical rivet lines.

I've never seen a boat fastened by a professional boatbuilder or otherwise, so this method is what I came up with out of lack of experience. I don't want to ruin the look of this very neat little boat so I was hoping someone can explain the correct way to rivet a hull.

Thanks!

[Paul Scheuer]

If the wavyness comes from inexact location of the batten or inexact tri-section of the space between, you might think of temporary stringers over the forms to lay the battens on to maintain the marks as you go up with the planking.

Remember that people who admire good looking boats don't break out the dividers to measure rivet spacing. I once saw a boat that had all the screw slots lined up perfectly. My reaction was negative.