Rub Rail & water Leaks

C

Captain Quest

New Member
Jul 25, 2011
55
Ontario
Boat Info
1989 Sea Ray
Engines
Twin
Well the 340 is out of the water sitting on blocks & stands for 5 very long months. She ran without a hitch for the last half of of the summer as thats as long as we have owned her. The worst thing with it has been water leaks & believe me they have been challenging. After asking on this forum some suggestions were made so I went around with some 3M clear & sealed up where the horns were mounted, along the bottom edge of the windshield, around the stanchion screws, the front port hole windows & a few other places. At that point much of it seemed to be under control until !.....clearing out the closet on the port side I started feeling around & the wall side material & carpet were soaked, checked the starboard side storage cabinet & that was wet, carpet & sides too.

Seems the point of entry on the port side is at the deck hull seam, either running down from the side window or the rub rail. Just received today 18ft of new window flocking ordered from "Taylor Made". Think over the winter I will take out both side windows, reinstall & reseal them at the same time putting in the new flocking(I know...cut holes for the drain channels)

I have also done quite a bit of research on rub rail sealing & here is my question along with info people have given me. It seems to be not a good idea to seal the edges of the rub rail & also unnecessary as I am told that water can not get in that way & can only run down behind the screw heads. So I am left with removing the screws, sealing the threads & putting them back in. I went to the boat today & did about 100 of them with 3M 5200 sealant / caulking. Now I am having second thoughts based on more reading that maybe the rub rail should be removed & the deck hull joints should be checked & sealed. I am at this point a little confused if I have done the right or wrong thing so far & would appreciate some input, thank you
 
How much did it cost you for the window flocking, ballpark? I am having the same problems with water, but it seems more to be coming in through the stanchions of bow rail and horn. I have decided to pull the rail off and reset them, and since the head liner is shot, I am pulling the head liner down, including the cabinets, and then glass the underside of where the horns are and reset them afterwards. I am interested in hearing the same about the rub rail.
 
Captain Quest,

If you will send me a PM with a good contact number and time to call, I will contact you and explain just exactly how we did it on your boat in 1988 and how we seal gunnels today.

I can help.

Rusty
 
Had the same problem with my 05' 320
only while blocked up for the winter 2 years ago, the bow was set too high water ran off the bow,
around the anchor then ran along the rub rail, the water 'wicked up" the seams, took me 2 weeks to find it
removed the rub rail totally sealed EVERY screw before putting it back in, FIXED
 
The window flocking is $5.00 & a few cents per foot & they come in 9ft lengths so I ordered 2 giving me 18 feet. It came about $90.00 plus shipping & handling which made it $127.70. They sent it U.P.S. which for me here in Canada was a mistake as U.P.S. charged me a $45.00 broker fee. This has happened on other items to do with U.P.S. & I should have asked Taylor Made to send it US parcel post.

Anyway I called U.P.S. & complained about the fees & they took $20.00 off

You can call "Taylor Made" directly at 518-773-0636
 
BOATER JOHN said:
So what your are saying is caulking the rub rail is more for looks and not function?
Click to expand...

Boater John - on my 340, when water would run over the rub rail (say from run off when filling the FW tank on the port side or from washing), water would travel to the aft end of my swim platform (via the rub rail) and exit there. I could see where some water was running into my ER due to poorly sealed rub rail screws. Rather than remove the rub rail (and caulk all the screw holes), I caulked the top joint of my rub rail and solved the problem.

Use blue tape and put a strip on the rub rail about a 64th of an inch from the joint, and another strip on the boat about a 64th of an inch from the joint (thanks fwebster). This will give you a nice 1/32" bead. Use a sprayer with some soap solution in it and your finger to wipe the excess onto the tape. Remove the tape before the caulk sets up and you will have a nearly invisible bead of caulk and a sealed rub rail.

It took 4 hours to tape it off and 45 minutes to caulk it. I used 3M Marine Grade Silicone Sealant (White).
 
rusty higgins said:
Captain Quest,

If you will send me a PM with a good contact number and time to call, I will contact you and explain just exactly how we did it on your boat in 1988 and how we seal gunnels today.

I can help.

Rusty
Click to expand...

I've got a rub rail leak at the rear starboard corner(right above stern lifting eye). Can this type of leak in this location infiltrate the transom itself?
 
Boater John, I am trying to figure this all out myself too & here's what I see in what you did, I am possibly missing something so please correct me if necessary.

By sealing the top edge of the rub rail I would agree you have diverted the water to run off in the desired direction but if the screws are not sealed the water can still run past the heads & down the threads to the inside of the boat. As the deck to hull joint is like a shoe box lid where the outside flap is lower than the hull rim, water getting behind the rub rail is still not able to enter the boat as water cannot run upwards. Thats why I believe the screws are the entry point for water. Now maybe every boat is not joined together exactly the same way but from a lot of information gathering this is the picture of understanding I have & please once again...if I am misinformed or not getting it right I am totally open to being further enlightened
 
Captain. I wasn't the one with the answere,I was the one with the question. I did caulk the rub rail on my 290 but it was more for looks,that boats engine room stayed dry. The 340 gets wet when it rains.
 
rusty higgins said:
Captain Quest,

If you will send me a PM with a good contact number and time to call, I will contact you and explain just exactly how we did it on your boat in 1988 and how we seal gunnels today.

I can help.

Rusty
Click to expand...

Inquiring minds want to know...

Is the knowledge so secret it cannot be posted here?
 
Are you sure that the Rub rail is the problem and not your side windows??? The Port side window extends clear past the bulkhead and behind the Access panel above the closet. this seems more likely of a place to leak. If you remove the panel above your Port side locker you will see what i am talking about.
 
Is the knowledge so secret it cannot be posted here?
Click to expand...

Rick, There is a secret forum on here & you're not invited. :lol: . :smt043


Just kidding with ya Rick. :smt001. I don't know what the BIG secret is either ??. :smt017
 
Well I found another leak and this one is not dealing with the stanchions or the rub rail. Yesterday my floor was dry. I turned on the faucets and let the water run out just before I left for the day. Today I go back and the floor was wet again. The galley sink does not seem to have as much pressure as the head. So I have this funny feeling that I have water leak in one of the hoses. I just keep on finding issues, now to find how the hose runs and where.
 
James... do you have the ice maker or the storage next to the sink. If you have storage like I do remove the shelves and climb in. Not comfortable but the only way I found to do the job. Once you are back there you can see they run down along the floor behind the counter. Not fun but hey its a boat.
 
At my age it is so much easier to talk than to try and type at any pace. Just didn't feel like typing a whole bunch so I hope we were able to trade ideas over the landline.

Rusty
 
rusty higgins said:
At my age it is so much easier to talk than to try and type at any pace. Just didn't feel like typing a whole bunch so I hope we were able to trade ideas over the landline.

Rusty
Click to expand...

Ok, I can live with that.

I heard tell you had been around the block a time or two...and around the block a time or two...and around the block...
 
Just want to say thanks very much to Rusty for a phone call & for clearing up my misunderstandings about caulking & rub rails. Thanks also for all your replies & input.....gee I still have so much to learn. Question is...are there enough years left ?
 
Interesting thread. Question, When re-sealing with new caulk / sealant around the rub rails, should I use 5200?

Also, I have noticed the skylight windows on my 340 seem to have broken pieces / small chunks of caulk flowing out every time I wash her down and then let the hose rinse out the skylight (round) windows on the bow section.

Additionally I have noticed around the outside of the windshield enclosure, there are missing pieces of caulk too. I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to re-seal the snap fittings for the canvas screw in fittings that are loose too.

I guess the real question I'm asking here, is 5200 the right / best caulk / sealant to use for this?:huh: If not, what IS the standard / proper caulking to use....?

Thanks Guys...

BTW, GO TEXAS RANGERS:smt038:smt038:smt038
 
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