450: Fasteners for cockpit covers

[Millerslocal]

Hi all,

Maintenance month missions!

I have the cockpit covers from Lagoon. A few of the female parts of the metal fasteners/studs which affix the cockpit covers over the stairwells have disappeared and we need to replace.

It is like a press stud in the material (female part) which then clips onto the male part of the stud on the deck.

Would anyone know what brand/make of fasteners these are so can source, and are there possibly female generics which will fit the existing male part (so no need to replace male part)

Despite having the measurements I have no idea where to start looking for these so am hoping someone may actually know the brand. Google search is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Thanks!

[sailormed]

look on websites of sail/auto/caravan etc. cover fabricators. Maybe you could even find some at your local tent/caravan accessory shop. They are rather common items.

[MarkSF]

They look like ordinary fabric snaps. I get mine from Sailrite, who sell good quality ones stainless steel ones. You can also get them on EBay. The ones on the cloth come in two pieces, for which you need a special crimper or hammer tool. Sailrite sell those too.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted by the cheap EBay kit with crimper and snaps in one kit. Useless.

[MarkSF]

They look like ordinary fabric snaps. I get mine from Sailrite, who sell good quality stainless steel ones. You can also get them on EBay. The ones on the cloth come in two pieces, for which you need a special crimper or hammer tool. Sailrite sell those too.

The ones on the cockpit have a screw thread. Damaged ones should unscrew.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted by the cheap EBay kit with crimper and snaps in one kit. Useless.

[Millerslocal]

Hi

Yes, I do know they're common - but to find one's that are an exact match for the existing one's is the trick, as I don't want to have to remove the male parts of the stud attached to the deck and replace these - thus am hoping to find a female that will fit the existing males - so that's the challenge.

Easy enough to pick something similar if replacing the male AND female studs, but to try replace just the female is where knowing the actual type of stud used would be most helpful.

I am assuming that removing the male stud from the deck would be a bit of a mission which is why trying to find a female stud that will fit existing male.

Unless of course removing the male stud off the deck is simple and easy to do - anyone had experience with that?

Thanks

[Cheechako]

The male parts just screw right out. Not a big deal. I have not found any that dont fit each other. As mentioned get good SS ones or chromed Brass.
You may want to remove one female and see how long you want the depth of the center barrel that gets flared/squeezed like a rivet on installation. IIRC they come in different lengths for different material thicknesses.

[Brewgyver]

They're called barrel snaps, and as pointed out above, you can order them from Sailrite. Any decently stocked chandlery will have them, even WM.

[Emerald Sea]

We replaced 3 of ours last year and was able to find these barrel snaps, same size, at a chandlery in Martinique (CaraibeMarine). But having said that, I have seen them in other chandleries. I only had to replace the topcaps (on the material) but purchased the complete assembly - a few for spares.

[afriis]

These fasteners tend to break quite easily, so I have thought about using Velcro instead. Anybody tried that?
I’ve worked with helicopters and aeroplanes where Velcro is the norm for this function. Velcro doesn’t rust either and on our 450 Sportop, the original fasteners aren’t enough to keep the Sun pads on the roof in place.

[SecondBase]

Originally Posted by afriis

These fasteners tend to break quite easily, so I have thought about using Velcro instead. Anybody tried that?
I’ve worked with helicopters and aeroplanes where Velcro is the norm for this function. Velcro doesn’t rust either and on our 450 Sportop, the original fasteners aren’t enough to keep the Sun pads on the roof in place.

If you are in a sunny region and leave the deck pads down below regularly, the Velcro will be exposed and breakdown. Stainless fittings have a longer life in the sun.

If the dot fittings aren't holding you might add more - maybe double up the number of fittings so the spacing looks good. You can order more dot fittings and a press tool from Sailrite.

I can't speak for Sailrite but asked nicely they might send you a few samples for sizing.

[MarkSF]

I've had cheap no-brand ones fail, in fact all of them did (cheap Ebay kit), but the quality ones (YKK, DOT, Snaprite) are very durable - providing that they were crimped properly.

If they aren't crimped properly, the two halves separate.

[afriis]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

If you are in a sunny region and leave the deck pads down below regularly, the Velcro will be exposed and breakdown. Stainless fittings have a longer life in the sun.

If the dot fittings aren't holding you might add more - maybe double up the number of fittings so the spacing looks good. You can order more dot fittings and a press tool from Sailrite.

I can't speak for Sailrite but asked nicely they might send you a few samples for sizing.

That's a good point. We didn't have that problem inside the helicopters
Our agent can probably help us adding more fasteners. They have already replaced several on warranty.

[Sailor647]

Take a look at Fasteners, Grommets & Washer Supplier/Manufacturer | Scovill Go to Industrial, then to Marine.

Scoville is the company that makes most of the high-quality fasteners sold in the United States (and world wide). They only sell in batches of 100 or more, but it will give you an idea of what's available and what fastener would work best for your application.

You can replace the male or female parts, as you call them, and they should fit the existing parts you leave on your boat. The snaps are manufactured to a common, standard size. If you get some that don't fit, they are probably cheap knock-offs.

I prefer to use Lift-the-Dot directional fasteners to secure canvas (Sunbrella) to fiberglass. They hold up really well in wind and don't pull the canvas apart when you remove it from the boat. It does require a special tool to cut the canvas prior to installing the fastener, but I have done it with a simple hole punch and a sharp razor blade - it's just more time consuming.

Good luck!

[Comix Bay]

Up here we can get them at what is called Fannies Fabrics. I call them dome fasteners. Also get Black out material, canvas, etc.

[Dsanduril]

AFAIK there is only one standard size, 9/16" (which matches the calipers in your photo), but SailRite has complete dimensional drawings here:Sailrite - Fabric, Canvas, and Sewing Machines Since 1969 - scroll to the dimensions links.