cockpit floor panel fasteners

My cockpit floor has DZUS fasteners. They are very clever bolts that are used to attach panels on airplanes, racing cars and motorcycles. You insert them, they engage a spring underneath and you give them a quarter turn. You can release them in a hurry without tools - a wonderful idea.

They are available at an industrial fastener wholesaler near Pearson airport in Toronto but you have to buy 500 or so at a time at a prohibitive price.

If anybody has any idea where to get 10 or so, I'd be eternally grateful.

Otherwise, another member recommended electrical panel bolts -- see my posting last February under "WANTED."

Dzus fasteners are available at Aircraft Spruce and Specialty. The have an outlet in Ontario. They will sell in much smaller quantities.

BNOLD 5000...
I'll fetch one of my Dzus fasteners tomorrow and post the dimensions.
Sounds like Seeadler has a good source. I'll check them out next week.
I'll be thrilled to finally find a good source.

After some more research online, I'm guessing that the best design of dzus fastener for our contessa's cockpit floor panels would be the type that simply fits through a hole in the floor panel and grabs a spring that is riveted to the underside of the flange that the floor panels rest on.  They look like a clean, simple design but the only apparent disadvantage seems to be that the dzus fastener would not be held captive and could easily fall out and drop in the bilge or overboard, etc.  I did see some split rings that aircraft spruce was selling with no explanation as to their use -- I wonder if those rings are used to hold the dzus fasteners captive on the floor panel?

fyi -- my 1971 Contessa has cockpit floor panels that are about 3/16" thick.  the seal would compress to about 1/16" and then the flange that the panel sits on varies a lot in thickness anywhere from about 3/16" thick to about 3/8" thick.  I'm planning on using a trim router with a rabbiting bit to machine the thickness of the flange on the underside to an even thickness all the way around for a quality install because the depth tolerances for the dzus fasteners are pretty tight.  I'll probably machine the flange to about the same as the door panels (3/16").    Cheers

Progress!

Victory, almost!!

I headed down to Aircraft Spruce at Brantford Airport yesterday on the trail of Dzus quarter-turn fasteners. They told me that we need -- DZUS AJ5-90 -- fasteners. But unfortunately they had none in stock, they are expensive and ordering takes a long time.

They referred me to David Clubine at Britain West Motorsport, a mile or so closer to Brantford, at 148 Pleasant Ridge Rd. 519 756-1610 . Clubine supplies parts for Formula Ford racing cars, including a modern version of the Dzus fastener. These are used to hold body panels onto the cars.

He recommended model -- EHF5-85 . They are of cheaper quality than the original Dzus fastener, they have a flat head instead of a slight dome, they are slightly shorter and you have to cut off the retainer, a two-minute job. But, with a little push, they work. 

I bought 12 at $5.70 each for a total of $68.40 plus HST. 

And they work!!!!!!  I may have to chamfer the hole very slightly but I see them as a very good alternative to the DZUS.

David Clubine seems like a decent guy. I'd order one from him to see if you approve and then go ahead. Or if you are in the Toronto area, pick up one from me and see if it works on your boat.

I'm happy to report that I bought some Dzus fasteners on eBay and they work just fine, ending an 18-month search! 
Thank you Christopher for tipping me off to eBay. Don't know why I didn't think of that.
Make sure you order part no. "Dzus AJ5-90". I tried AJ5-65, but they are a little short.
For people unfamiliar with Dzus fasteners, they really work a treat. You insert them into the hole, give them a quarter-turn with a dime and they lock the cockpit floor down tight.
They were designed to hold down the cowlings on airplanes, racing cars and sport motorcycles where you have to act fast with no chance of breakdown. That means they work well on Contessas!

Hey Oliver!  Glad you had success.  I got as far as putting one of my DZUS fasteners in my pocket but was not certain how to size it for length.

I will order my spares shortly!

On a side note, my DZUS fasteners fit fairly loosely on the panel until they have been twisted down.  I was thinking about a ring of heat shrink around the fastener.  It would serve to reduce leakage around the fasteners.  And if sized right, it might just keep the DZUS fasteners attached to the sole panel, making it more difficult to loose them.

WRT gaskets, I bought some excellent 3M foam rubber on EBay from a supplier in Hong Kong.  Works great on the cockpit lockers so I am thinking about a similar idea for the cockpit panel.

More bilge treasures!   I think my companionway keys and a flashlight went in there last week.