Soft Deck, What Would You Do?

[Golfman25]

Well I did something wrong, as water was pouring in quite a bit, can I use too much of the 3M 4000?

So your are using the 3M 4000 as a "gasket." To do it right, you want to do as described above. Put a bead around hatch opening. Don't leave any gaps. Place the hatch and gently secure it. Try not to squeeze much, if anything, out. That will give you adhesion between the hatch and deck. Let it set up -- read the instructions for cure times. Then, tighten everything down.

As an aside, make sure you sealed the edges of the wood you replaced with resin so it doesn't take up water as the hatch is a potential leak point.

 

[SkiPharmer]

After doing some more research I think I will use butyl tape to seal the hatch....any thoughts?

 

[Golfman25]

After doing some more research I think I will use butyl tape to seal the hatch....any thoughts?

When done right, the 3m adhesive sealant can't be beat. I replaced a hatch 10+ years ago. No problems since. Take the time to do it right.

 

[BillK2632]

You sure it is the hatch base leaking and not the gasket that seals it shut?

 

[SkiPharmer]

You sure it is the hatch base leaking and not the gasket that seals it shut?

Yes, I must have done it incorrectly, cuz I put the 3M 4000UV on and screwed the hatch on tight right away. didn't let it cure at at.

 

[Sublimetime]

I think you should spray and investigate a little more and be absolutely certain it is leaking from the caulk not sealing, or as mentioned above that it is not the rubber seal leaking. (now that you have removed and rebed the hatch frame it might be in a slightly different position/ angle and the seal might not be making contact all the way around as they tend to take a shape and harden rubber with age).

would suck to remove and clean and reinstall and still have the leak if it wasn't a bad caulk job the first time around.

 

[Chris-380]

Yes, I must have done it incorrectly, cuz I put the 3M 4000UV on and screwed the hatch on tight right away. didn't let it cure at at.

Unless you bought a fast cure, i bet it takes 7 days to fully cure, give it a week before you do any water test

 

[SkiPharmer]

I think you should spray and investigate a little more and be absolutely certain it is leaking from the caulk not sealing, or as mentioned above that it is not the rubber seal leaking. (now that you have removed and rebed the hatch frame it might be in a slightly different position/ angle and the seal might not be making contact all the way around as they tend to take a shape and harden rubber with age).

would suck to remove and clean and reinstall and still have the leak if it wasn't a bad caulk job the first time around.

I will do that when i can get down there again, its gonna snow/rain here in MN tomorrow.....UGH!

 

[markhpc]

I will do that when i can get down there again, its gonna snow/rain here in MN tomorrow.....UGH!

Our backyard is pretty flooded! Can't believe how high the water table is right now. How did the reseal go? If you haven't done it yet, ttmott mentioned using sikaflex in another thread:

http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/caulking-windshield.90963/#post-1032916

 

[SkiPharmer]

Our backyard is pretty flooded! Can't believe how high the water table is right now. How did the reseal go? If you haven't done it yet, ttmott mentioned using sikaflex in another thread:

http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/caulking-windshield.90963/#post-1032916

I am doing it this weekend with butyl tape. we have had a few evenings on the boat already, nice being the only ones out there. Just need to put the dinghy in

 

[turbotadd]

I am doing it this weekend with butyl tape. we have had a few evenings on the boat already, nice being the only ones out there. Just need to put the dinghy in

I've got a '96 330 right up the way at Boomsite...
How did the butyl tape work out? I've got water coming into the starboard locker by the forward berth, and think it could be from one of the small hatches...

 

[SkiPharmer]

I've got a '96 330 right up the way at Boomsite...
How did the butyl tape work out? I've got water coming into the starboard locker by the forward berth, and think it could be from one of the small hatches...

It worked awesome. I can come help you take a look at it. I work in Stillwater. Feel free to text/call me six5one 50three 22three6

 

[DavidBukstel]

Completed this job yesterday! I am the least handy person you will meet so I had my contractor buddy help me. Total time was 2.5 hours. Used marine plywood and West Systems Six10 epoxy then resealed the hatch with 3M 4000UV. I think it turned out well. Total cost was $192. Should be better than Factory. Check your hatches!

SkiPharmer, that is an incredible job. How much six10 did you use? did you inject it into the opening then push the plywood through to spread the six10 around? Thanks for the pictures!

 

[SkiPharmer]

SkiPharmer, that is an incredible job. How much six10 did you use? did you inject it into the opening then push the plywood through to spread the six10 around? Thanks for the pictures!

I think it took 5 tubes of it, yes i did that way. I would use this stuff again in a heart beat!

 

[noleaclover]

I am dealing with this issue on my 95 330 DA as well. I removed all 3 hatches and unlike you, the bigger hatch was completely dry. The small hatch on the starboard side is the problem. The corner had some wet wood (not too deep) and i was able to remove the dry rot about 1 inch deep then I started picking through clean-dry wood.

Today after work I am going to use six10 to fill in the 1inch deep gap without using any wood. Hopefully I won't need another tube.

 

[DavidBukstel]

I think it took 5 tubes of it, yes i did that way. I would use this stuff again in a heart beat!

Thanks again. I just removed my hatch today and the damaged area is not so bad. It is localized on the starboard side about 23" by 13". You're pictures were great. I'm going to finish cleaning it out tomorrow and use your method with marine plywood cut in strips and Six10.

 

[SkiPharmer]

I am dealing with this issue on my 95 330 DA as well. I removed all 3 hatches and unlike you, the bigger hatch was completely dry. The small hatch on the starboard side is the problem. The corner had some wet wood (not too deep) and i was able to remove the dry rot about 1 inch deep then I started picking through clean-dry wood.

Today after work I am going to use six10 to fill in the 1inch deep gap without using any wood. Hopefully I won't need another tube.

how did it turn out?

 

[noleaclover]

how did it turn out?

SkiPharmer I appologize for my SO LATE reply. I could not login because I forgot my login ID.

It wen't well. I am happy I did it because the starboard side bow window def had some dry wood in it although not as much dry wood as in the picture here. This upcoming season I will be tackling the windshield. I am positive I have some leakage there on the bottom screws.

 

[viper340]

I'm living the dream like the rest of you. Working on my 1999 340 with this same situation on Starboard forward hatch. Cleaned out most of the rotted balsa and have been looking for ideas. Thought about either doing what you did with balsa or using Injectadeck by pulling corner of headliner if needed, drilling holes and injecting the foam. Your pictures and write-up is much appreciated. One note, the port hatch is perfectly dry while the Starboard is wet. Looking at the hole cut for the hatch it is painfully obvious the *person*(insert favorite other word here) cutting the hatch holes simply cut the starboard side too large which caused the screws to pull loose (no holding material) and allowed the hatch seal to leak. What a shame a "people problem" causes an otherwise good boat to have a leaking issue which could have easily been avoided.

 

[markhpc]

I'm living the dream like the rest of you. Working on my 1999 340 with this same situation on Starboard forward hatch. Cleaned out most of the rotted balsa and have been looking for ideas. Thought about either doing what you did with balsa or using Injectadeck by pulling corner of headliner if needed, drilling holes and injecting the foam. Your pictures and write-up is much appreciated. One note, the port hatch is perfectly dry while the Starboard is wet. Looking at the hole cut for the hatch it is painfully obvious the *person*(insert favorite other word here) cutting the hatch holes simply cut the starboard side too large which caused the screws to pull loose (no holding material) and allowed the hatch seal to leak. What a shame a "people problem" causes an otherwise good boat to have a leaking issue which could have easily been avoided.

I ended up hiring mine out to our local marina as part of the sales agreement with the previous owner. It turned out to not be too bad. The balsa was damp but still in good shape as the moisture had mostly migrated to a hollow area near the anchor locker and they were able to drill some holes and run heat lamps and fans to dry everything out. I think we probably caught it fairly early before things got too bad.

Re: your starboard hatch, that's rough! It seems like QC wasn't always the greatest no matter the manufacturer. When we were having our deck worked on we also had a thru-hull replaced and whoever originally installed it never sealed it on the inside! We had about a 12x12" area of elevated moisture. thankfully it wasn't worse!

Do you have a moisture meter? It was critical for me when mapping out the areas that were wet prior to survey. I was able to give my surveyor a list of areas I was concerned about and he double checked my findings. Here's the meter I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/General-Tool...d_r=54CQEXAF5BP1YSAPDEV9&psc=1&qid=1583329072

It performed almost as well as my surveyor's $600 unit (just a couple of areas his was a bit more sensitive). If you haven't already done so, I would definitely map out the moisture before filling stuff in. Make sure you really have gotten all of that rotted balsa out and that the moisture hasn't migrated farther out to areas you can't see. It sounds like you've already dug out everything you could around the starboard hatch which is good. If you have moisture down by the anchor locker, you might be able to drill holes from the inside so you have fewer holes to deal with up on the deck. That's how my marina did mine. If you have to drill up on the deck, try to stick to the smooth areas without texture. You'll be far happier if you don't have to try to match it. My marina has some homemade tools they can use to dig out around drill holes. Not sure how hard it would be to do something similar.

I'd be tempted to try filling with inject-a-deck as it should be stronger and more resistant to future moisture, but it seems like it could be messy to work with. Balsa/plywood is pretty straightforward and skipharmer had good luck with it, but it probably depends on how far out the moisture goes and how irregularly shaped the void is.

Good luck!