skibum
Well-Known Member
I was going to do it last year, but life was happening at blazing speed and the boat had to take a back seat for a couple of months. Last weekend I took the plunge and removed my rub rail. What a mess. The entire port side from just forward of the forward port light back until about a foot and a half from the back of the boat was not connected. There were a couple of screws still in their holes, but they were so loose I could spin them out with my fingers. 2 or 3 of them had been bent into a z shape. I'll try to find them and snap a picture of them next time I get down there. I should have done this much earlier. The starboard side also has a few spots where the screws were loosening up, but all of them still had good purchase into the hull. From the front port light on each side and around the tip of the bow, all of the screws seem to be tight and there is no apparent gap. The two pieces seem to be flush with each other. It appears to be "sealed" with a bead of soft silicone along the outside of the joint. I'm not sure if this sealant is between the 2 parts, or simply applied externally. The situation seems to be the same across the stern. There is one small, 1/2" wide gap in the externally applied bead. I can't tell if the 2 halves are touching, or if there is a gap between them because of the sealant. I think there is a small gap.
I've managed to get about 85% of the sealant off of the hull on the port side. There were 3 broken off screws in a 4" section that I had to spend an hour removing with needle nose pliers. That was fun. Mineral spirits has been doing a decent job of softening whatever it is. Scraping it off has required more finesse than force, so it really hasn't been too bad. I'm planning on just using a bit of 60 grit to roughen up the underside of the deck a bit because I really can't see it well enough to scrape it "clean". I'll hit it with some acetone right before I start buttoning her up. I hope that will be sufficient.
I'm going to replace all of the screws. Do y'all think it would be worth it to "upgrade" the hull to deck screws to #10s as opposed to the standard #8s? I believe the 5200 will provide the strength once it sets, so I'm leaning towards sticking with the #8s. Is my logic sound?
As to the bow and stern. I'm inclined at this point to leave well enough alone as I don't see any apparent issues to fix. I'm debating about removing the old sealant from the surface so when I seal the sides of the boat I'll have a continuous bead (more like a filet) around the perimeter. Do you guys think that is the proper course of action?
Last question. Is there anything wrong with using Marine Tex to fill in the extra holes in the deck. I have several to fill. I'd like to restore some structural integrity to the section with 5 holes in a 6" stretch. Or should I just fill them with 5200?
I've lost 4 days due to rain. I've got 4 tubes of 5200 ready to go. All I need are a few dry hours.
Edit: I forgot to mention. Just in case anyone else has a problem with a bit of rust stain appearing on the vinyl headliner around the bottom perimeter of the port light inside the cabin. I took it off 3 years ago to reseal it, but it was obviously not leaking when I took it apart. Everything was clean and dry. While scraping the sealant, I noticed that some excess interior headliner material was sandwiched between the hull and the deck. Apparently, water would go under the rail and soak the foam backing of the vinyl and wick its way up to the bottom frame of the port light, causing rust where there was no leak.
I've managed to get about 85% of the sealant off of the hull on the port side. There were 3 broken off screws in a 4" section that I had to spend an hour removing with needle nose pliers. That was fun. Mineral spirits has been doing a decent job of softening whatever it is. Scraping it off has required more finesse than force, so it really hasn't been too bad. I'm planning on just using a bit of 60 grit to roughen up the underside of the deck a bit because I really can't see it well enough to scrape it "clean". I'll hit it with some acetone right before I start buttoning her up. I hope that will be sufficient.
I'm going to replace all of the screws. Do y'all think it would be worth it to "upgrade" the hull to deck screws to #10s as opposed to the standard #8s? I believe the 5200 will provide the strength once it sets, so I'm leaning towards sticking with the #8s. Is my logic sound?
As to the bow and stern. I'm inclined at this point to leave well enough alone as I don't see any apparent issues to fix. I'm debating about removing the old sealant from the surface so when I seal the sides of the boat I'll have a continuous bead (more like a filet) around the perimeter. Do you guys think that is the proper course of action?
Last question. Is there anything wrong with using Marine Tex to fill in the extra holes in the deck. I have several to fill. I'd like to restore some structural integrity to the section with 5 holes in a 6" stretch. Or should I just fill them with 5200?
I've lost 4 days due to rain. I've got 4 tubes of 5200 ready to go. All I need are a few dry hours.
Edit: I forgot to mention. Just in case anyone else has a problem with a bit of rust stain appearing on the vinyl headliner around the bottom perimeter of the port light inside the cabin. I took it off 3 years ago to reseal it, but it was obviously not leaking when I took it apart. Everything was clean and dry. While scraping the sealant, I noticed that some excess interior headliner material was sandwiched between the hull and the deck. Apparently, water would go under the rail and soak the foam backing of the vinyl and wick its way up to the bottom frame of the port light, causing rust where there was no leak.
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