Hunter 26/260 Stern Rail Attachments

[Ian M]

Gentlemen, before I tear out the rear panel, take out the holding tank and/or the starting battery and all the wiring, maybe one of you can save me a quite a bit of time and help me with an issue.

For the stern rails on the Hunter 260 (mine is a 2004), they are attached to the boat via circular stainless steel base that are held on with three screws. Some of the screws have started to come loose (no pun intended), leaving a gap that water can get it through. So my first question is: Are the screws through bolted, is there an aluminum plate embedded in the epoxy that is tapped, or is it just screwed into the fiberglass?

My second question has to do with sealing the rail base. If the screws are through bolted, I plan on using marine grade butyl tape. However, if the screws are screwed into an aluminum plate or the fiberglass, I have read that butyl tape is not the best option, as screwing in with butyl tape can cause the tape not the seal properly. I usually use 3M 4000 UV for things like screws. Does anyone have any experience comparing butyl tape vs. 3M 4000 for screws? I plan on countersinking the holes either way to allow for a large surface area for the sealant to “seal”. Or should I stop over thinking this and just tighten the screw and not worry about the moisture?

My last question is, does the Hunter 260 have any sort of wood core, or is the entire top and bottom constructed of fiberglass? Just wondering.

Thank you all very much in advance for your help on this matter. I hope one day I can return the favor and contribute.

Thank you very much, and have a great day!

Ian

 

[twalker H260]

I’m sure Crazy Dave will chime in on this but here is what I know.

On the 260 and I believe on the 26 there are encapsulated aluminum plates at mounting locations - I will see if I can find the hunter drawings indicating the locations. You can usually see them through the fibreglass on a bright day.

My understanding is you are best to use butyl under the mounting plate - do a small countersink at each screw hole and it will fill with butyl as screws are tightened - believe Maine sail has some of the best available.

The 260 is I believe solid fibreglass construction with no wood core.

On whether or not to just tighten screws or rebed I would look at the existing sealant - if old and dry or if you have obvious leaking inside - rebed. On our 260 I do retighten fasteners fairly regularly without rebedding - frequency depends on how many hours of motoring and how many miles of trailering as these both cause fasteners to vibrate loose.

 

[twalker H260]

The backing plate info is here on the site:

https://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_260_11900362.pdf

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

There aluminum plates en capsulated in the fiberglass. The bases of the stern rail seats were welded on by hand and like the photos above sometimes are not flat. That said. I never used butyl tape here for this rendering for various reasons. Also remember trying to pull steel bases out while screwing back into aluminum, just think about that. On caulk, simply over caulk and let ooze out. Clean up excess and you will be fine

 

[Ian M]

Thank you all for the replys. Mr. Condon, what I understand you saying is small gaps between the stern rail seat base and the fiberglass (like the one in the picture) can be normal due to the manufactoring process. Because of this, do NOT over tighten the screws, as one can strip the threads in the aluminium plate. Just make sure they are snug and put some sealant on them (not butyl tape).

Mr. Condon, can you confirm there is not wood core anywhere on the boat? Once again, this is purely a curiosity thing on my part.

Thank you all once again, and have a great day!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

No wood in hull. I will make sure about deck before responding but doubt it due to keeping weight low. For structural strength and flexibility, dynvinacell was added. Will explain later. On road trip again

 

[Ian M]

Thank you Dave. I look forward to your explanation. Your experience and expertise is indispensible to this forum.

Thanks once again to everyone.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

To keep the boat light, the use of dyvanicell which is a foam sandwitch basically was added between the fiberglass giving the hull and deck structural integrity but also allowing either to give or absorb vs. wood adding weight.