top of boat disconnected from bottom at seam!

H

HerMidlifeCrisis

New Member
Oct 11, 2011
5
Upstate NY
Boat Info
Sea Ray I/O 1993 18 foot
Engines
3.5 L
Well, as my name says I'm new to boat ownership. My alternative name could be “His pain in the A**. So I bought a nice 1993 Sea Ray from a “Pastor” who was being transferred to Texas. (Last time I believe that line) anyhow I get in my new boat and I’m Sooooo happy I have finally worn my husband down to let me spend my savings on a boat. Much to my chagrin, when we turn sharply left water comes pouring into the cabin. The leak seems to be located up by my elbow on the passenger side from up under that curtain. First we think, oh maybe the ice box hose has disconnected. (I wish) My husband figures out the top and bottom of the boat are separated from each other for about 4 feet. So what’s under there? He’s done glass work on cars before, is this just a matter of pulling the bumper guard off, repairing the fiberglass and putting the guard back on? (Wondering how much grief I’m going to take for this one from my wonderful talented husband who didn’t want a boat to begin with). Anyone else experience this problem? Thanks for your help,
MyMidlifeCrisis
 
Close to 30 people have read this so far, and no one has answered. Maybe someone with personal knowledge of your exact model will chime in (I do not), but if not maybe you could provide more info. For instance the model boat? I can't tell by your post if you mean cabin or cockpit...is this a bowrider or does it have an actual cabin? Some pictures would help also so we know is there some caulk missing around the rubrail or is the deck actually separated from the hull? The rubrail is removable but I would think if separated it would also be bent or bowed
 
Yes, it's a Open bow rider, the rubrail is tweaked and there is a gap where it is loose. My husband thinks caulk will fix it, I'll post a picture tomorrow when it's light. Thanks
 
I'd recommending pulling the rubrail insert and the rubrail "mount". Your boat is, basically, put together like a shoebox. The top half has a lip that overlaps the bottom half - just like the shoe box. These two pieces are glued (supposed to be, anyway) together. The rubrail "mount" is then screwed into this overlapping area. The rubrail insert is then screwed through the mount and, also, into the overlap (if it is SS - if it is vinyl, it just fits into the mount by friction). Taking the rubrail and the mount off is a pretty easy job. You may only need to remove a section or maybe just part of the mount as you can tape/hang it (carefully) out of the way. Once you get to that point, post some pictures of what you're up against and we can help some more. Likely, you'll squirt some 5200 into the gap to both glue it and seal it. Then finish each screw hole with silicone.

It's best to do this the right way. It really isn't that hard.

Make some reference marks on the insert/mount/boat so you can easily line things back up in the right spots (if an entire piece needs to come off, that is).
 
Okay, my husband wonders how the two side of the boat are originally bonded? Do you just pull the rub rail out? I'll post pictures when we can get out there again when it's not raining (again!) Thanks, Cheryl
 
Vinyl rubrail... Yes - it's just in there by friction.

Put together... Can you be more specific in your question? In regards to my explanation above, what do you need clarification on?
 
She means "how is the deck cap fastened to the hull"?

Sea Ray uses a sealer and assembles the deck down onto the hull so the sealer is captured in the deck to hull joint, then the deck to hull joint is either thru bolted or screwed together and the vinyl rub rail is screwed in place over that joint. On some models, the rub rail screws are also the attaching method, but I don't know about your particular boat. Typically when there is a leak in an area this large, it means that the boat has had some previous damage and a repair that was not done and sealed properly. Dennis's repair description is the proper method for the fix, and it isn't that difficult to do. However, there are some easy ways to mess it up.........try to take it apart and put it back together on the same day so the temperatures are about the same when it comes apart as when it goes back together. If you take it apart on a warm afternoon, wait 3 weeks and then finish after several temperature changes, the rub rail can relax and shrink and it may not fit in either curvature or in length. Sea Ray uses heat guns and does a very precise job of fitting the vinyl to the boat and you don't want to learn that skill the hard way. And, on the stainless insert (if you have one), find the splices and start removing at a splice and support the stainless in some way so it doesn't get bent while it is removed from the boat. If you bend it, it isn't ever going to look right again.

Good luck with it...................
 
fwebster said:
She means "how is the deck cap fastened to the hull"?
Click to expand...

Yes. I thought that was what I wrote - I was thinking there was more to her question? Maybe not. Although, maybe it's just that I understand what I wrote because I wrote it. Problem with forums is sometimes the meaning of what we intended to say is lost. Oh well, between your post and mine, there should be enough to at least get them started.

Edit: along the lines of "things getting lost in translation"... Just so it's clear, there is no "ill intent" or sarcasm in either of my posts - just trying to better understand what the questions are so I give a better answer.
 
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I have no idea how your top and bottom are attached. We had the same problem on our 28 footer and present boat. The rub rail was attached with screws. The calk was located between the two halfs in a 1/4" space that was about 1 to 2" deep. We dug it out with box cutting knife and put in new calk then screwed the two halfs back together. No leaks. We did the 38 footer in 16 hours. The 28 footer took longer as I had no idea what to do. In both cases the calk was worn out. Both boats leaked badly in the rain.
 
fwebster said:
Now you sound like an English teacher telling students to proof read your work.................!
Click to expand...

I know, I know. I just wanted to be clear that there was no negativity in any of my comments. I gave a description of how the two halves were put together, but it must not have a clear explanation - hence her question of "how are they put together". So, I just wanted to know where her confusion still lied so I could explain it better (or differently).


What's that old saying... "Do as I say, not as I do?" :smt001
 
Northern - don't scare them off (with "16 hours")! :lol:

Doing a small section is about an hour-long job. Maybe a bit longer since it'll be the first time you do it and you'll likely be taking your time to double check yourself.
 
It took 16 hours to do the entire boat. So a few feet on a small boat should not take too long. I only had a few areas that leaked but we figured a couple of days was worth it to do the entire boat. All dry now so it was worth it. In all we had 90 feet of seam that works out to 10 minutes a foot.
 
I'm so excited as both the explainations are clear. I think my husband is going to be able to handle it perfectly (especially now that we know what he's getting into.) Although I'm sure the neighbors will hear plently of swear words while he's working.:lol: Now IF it will ever stop raining up North here we can get started. (We live in Vestal NY which was severely flooded last month. You might have seen us on the National news.) I couldn't save the first floor of my cottage, but I did bring my boat home before it could wash away with my dock on the Susquehanna. (By the way, I also am getting water in the passenger compartment when it rains.) I put an ugly tarp over it to keep it from getting moldy again. (That was a lot of scrubbing, and I ran a dehumidifier inside it for days, which worked well.) It will all come together soon. Thanks everyone for their imput, I'll let you know how much swearing went on when it's fininshed.:thumbsup: Thank you! Cheryl
 
When taking out the old calk I took out all the loose stuff and as much ofthe hard calk I could. In one area the interior fabric had been cut too long and was in the calk space.
 
"Thanks everyone for their imput, I'll let you know how much swearing went on when it's fininshed.:thumbsup: Thank you! Cheryl"

I swear that you two seem to do a lot of cussing about almost everything. I see that you are newbies, so we will let it go this time Cheryl. We don't do much of that kind of talk around here at CSR.
 
Oops, sorry, that was just my attempt at humor. (I don't actually even swear.) It's just my husband knew how much work a boat was going to be and still he agreed to let me buy one because he knew it would make me happy. We got hood-winked by the former owner who had to have known that the leak was there. When I think back to the test drive the former owner just happened to never turn sharply left. I think he saw us coming. Oh well, buyer beware and live and learn. I was just jesting because I thought other boat owners would understand his frustration. It's a pretty big problem for a new boat owner.
 
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