screws for gunwales

[Alan WI]

I'm installing ash gunwales with spacer blocks on the inwales for a lighter and stiffer gunwale, with a somewhat traditional look. I think I prefer stainless steel to silicon bronze screws. There's no way I'll use a slotted screw, so I'm looking at phillips, square drive, and star drive.

I'm wondering about the auger point screws like these, since that's all I've found for the star drive screws that I like:
http://www.screw-products.com/silver.htm

Here's the square drive version of the auger point, with a clearer picture:
http://store.yahoo.com/squaredrive/fast ... point.html

What I'm wondering is whether these will hold as well as a standard thread. Also, the "boat building" screws with a heavier shank to better fill the hole would seem to add weight without any advantage in strength, as long as you finish well enough to keep water out, as would be expected for a canoe.

Does anyone have any comments with regard to screw types?

Thanks,
Alan

[Glen Smith]

Do you plan on using epoxy and screws or only screws. I install mine with thickened epoxy only. I sometimes use temporary screws which I later remove and plug the holes.

[Alan in WI]

I had planned on epoxy between the scupper blocks and inwales, but screws to hold the gunwales to the boat. I guess I am thinking that the gunwales are less fully encapsulated than the hull, and take some wear, so the screws will make repair easier down the line.

[Alan in WI]

Let's see if I can get an image to appear.



Since the photo the inside wais epoxied, the eyes have obtained pupils (painter holes), the sheer line wass trimmed, and the seats were made. Now for the gunwales.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Don't underestimate the value of a sturdy shank on a screw that's going to live on a boat for a while and possibly need to be removed down the line for future repairs. Once you wring the heads off of a couple of old ones and have to get yourself out of the predicament of extracting the left over bits, you'll see that a sturdy shank has value far beyong the small bit of extra weight it might contribute. On the last boat that I re-gunwaled I used bronze square drive screws (from Jamestown as I remember) and they worked beautifully. Unless I'm specifically trying to match old slotted screws on a restoration job, I'm sticking with square-drive. Over the years I've had to remove the gunwales for repair, refinishing or replacement on three or four boats. Not a lot, but enough to make me glad they weren't glued-on, so I'm not a big fan of doing so.