Installing YKK® SNAD® on an Inflatable Dinghy

To keep your dinghy chaps secured on your dinghy boat, we recommend using snap fasteners to secure the chaps to the sides of the boat. In this video, we’re using YKK^® SNAD^® Adhesive Backed Flexible studs. These snap studs adhere the boat, and then the snap buttons that are installed on the dinghy chaps attach to the stud unit for a perfectly secure fit. Now your dinghy chaps won’t go anywhere and will stay nice and secured on your dinghy boat. Let’s get started with this video how-to.

If you’re not familiar with YKK SNADs you soon will be. These adhesive-backed snap studs are a fantastic option for when you can’t drill into a surface, such as with a dinghy. They have a flexible base that will contour and adhere to curved surfaces like stainless steel or aluminum tubing if you don’t want to drill into your dodger or bimini frame. In fact, we recommend using a flexible SNAD only on curved surfaces, and they must be used with nickel-plated brass sockets. At Sailrite^®, we offer two sizes of SNAD stud bases — 25mm and 40mm — so you can select the size that’s best for your particular project.

First, we need to mark on our dinghy where we want the SNADs placed. We recommend anywhere from 10 to 18 inches between SNADs. With your dinghy chaps on the boat, mark the edge of the chaps with a pencil, marking on the inside edges of the boat where the SNADs will be adhered. Next, we’ll show you how to properly install the SNADs by cleaning the surface of the dinghy and applying an adhesive promoter. The video will show you how this is done. We strongly recommend that you use 3M™ Tape Primer 94 Adhesive Promoter before installing the SNADs. Using the primer will result in the best adhesion results over a long period of time.

Once the SNADs are adhered to the dinghy and they’ve had time to cure, next it’s time to install the snap fastener button heads on the edges of your dinghy chaps so they match up with the SNAD placement. We use the Pres-N-Snap Installation Tool to install our snap fastener buttons. All the tools and supplies needed for this DIY can be found right here at Sailrite.