Malibu Kayak handle replacement

Both of the side carry handles failed as I lifted my xfactor over my head last year. One failed, then the weight shifted to the other and it failed as well. I contacted Malibu Kayaks and they sent me out some replacements.  For some reason, I thought they were attached by screws, but they are attached by rivets.
How do I get the rivets off and will any rivet gun work to reinstall them???
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=97757&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=

You should be able to drill out the rivets with a handheld power drill and reinstall. Any rivet gun should work

get a regular rivet gun and some rivets from hook one and put a washer behind them and simply drill out the old head and knock the rest though with a hammer and punch, or if you can reach them use nuts and washer for next time

Thanks fellaz. I was planning on grinding the rivet away, but the drill sounds like a better idea.  Malibu sent me replacement rivets and washers, but Im waiting on a friend for the rivet gun. thnx again

Wow, I assumed that the rivets failed, but after looking at the photo, it looks like the actual webbing of the handle tore. Considering that despite their size, those boats only weigh 70 lbs. or so which is not much weight at all for that webbing to rip like that.

good luck.

yeah. I was surprised failed so easily. I asked the guy at Malibu if this was common and this is his reply. "No they are normally pretty strong against wear and tear.  We’ve also improved some of our handles in the last few months to make them stronger."
The handles I received looked identical to the handles I replaced. Oh well. Im happy with the new handles and Malibu for replacing them with no hassle.
Heres a few more pics

You can always make your own too.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,7919.0.html