Inspecting / augmenting rub-rail caulking

[AaronD]

Well, here's my first dumb question of the week (likely several more to come...stay tuned...

I believe other posters have discussed the potential for leaks under the rub-rail (through the deck-to-hull joint) if the caulking fails. I haven't noticed leaking there, but I'll do something proactively if the time investment is reasonable. Is it possible to inspect or augment this seal without removing the rub rail and aluminum slot? Getting the rubber rail in the slot sounds like a several hour project, and would probably require new rail, as I doubt even heat, soap, or profanity could coerce 36-year-old rail back in if I removed it.

If a bead of 3M 4200UV along the edges of the aluminum slot will help, I'll do that this year. If it requires a full rub-rail job, that may have to wait a season or two.

 

[Skipperdan]

I just did mine. I removed the rub rail and cleaned out the joint. (Really good) then I filled in the joint with fiberglass putty. One can also and should use Epoxy mix, but my boat is not worth that much and I've done body work for 14 years and the stuff I used is weather proof. This gives you a solid connection rather than a hollow connection filled with sealer. This way when you reattach the rub rail it has something solid to attach to. All holes were drilled out larger and filled with epoxy then re-drilled for the screw. This way no water can ever get to the core. I have the same problem you mention the rubber piece is hard but I will use a heat gun and work it slowly back in.

 

[Leeward Rail]

What year is your Catalina 22 ?

On the later models. Or at least on my, and Gene's boats, there is epoxy in the hull deck joint.
No caulk was used there.

See the link below for Gene's photos.

Water in bilge area

That said, Catalina did change things over the years, so maybe older boats used caulking ?

Mistakes in assembly can also occur. I've found a couple places on our boat, where there were little voids in areas that I don't think was intentional.

 

[AaronD]

What year is your Catalina 22 ?
...

Thanks @Leeward Rail. My boat is a 1981. I can't tell for sure what's under the rail (caulk, epoxy, or ???) without removing it. It looks like there is some caulk at the bow, filling the larger gap where the rail bends sharply.

But we haven't noticed leaks there. So I think I'm going to have to put this one off and fix the known leaks instead (along with the rest of the spring list, which is plenty long enough - keel winch+cable, cockpit drains, clutches + deck organizers, standing rigging, furler, steaming light, bimini top, ...)

 

[Leeward Rail]

Hehe. Tell me about it. I've owned our C22 for 2 summers and it's only been in the water once. (slept/camped in it for about 7 days total, on land, but that's another story)
She'll be good to go once I get a new depth finder installed.
The rest of the list of jobs can wait.

 

[kclancy]

Did you re-caulk over the old caulk? That was what I was planning on doing to see if I can stop the water from coming into the bilge. I was hoping to avoid removing the rail and rebedding. But if I am wasting my time I want to know. Thanks!

 

[AaronD]

Did you re-caulk over the old caulk? That was what I was planning on doing to see if I can stop the water from coming into the bilge. I was hoping to avoid removing the rail and rebedding. But if I am wasting my time I want to know. Thanks!

I haven't done anything to mine, and probably won't this year. But I haven't noticed leaks here yet, so I don't have the motivation you do. I am highly motivated to fix the leaks in the forward hatch latches that drip on me if it rains at night

 

[CloudDiver]

To all above; if you look at my build thread you'll see that when I flipped my hull over I cleaned out that gap and then filled it with thickened epoxy. You'd be amazed at how much dirt gets packed up in there. I just use the red fairing filler so it was easy to knife in and quick to sand flush. In retrospect I think that might have been a poor choice, I'm afraid any flexing in the hull might cause it to crack.... it is, however, probably the strongest part of the hull structure so I'm not too worried about it. I would recommend going with WEST G Flex pre thickened 650 in the self mixing caulk tube to do that job with the boat upright. That epoxy is designed to flex so no worries there, and the extra expense is worth it for the convenient application process. You would have to sand it flush and paint over it. Otherwise, 3M 4000 UV is also a fine choice, no painting required, but just be neat in the application and knife it smooth.
In any case, you should remove the rub rail for this job. Don't worry to much about damaging the channel, just be careful and it will be fine. This gives you the chance to really clean it out (tons of dirt stuck behind it), fix any broken screws, then use new stainless screws and put back on. Doing this in conjunction with a new rub-rail insert is ideal. It was a difficult and tiring chore; a heat gun works way better than soapy water and an extra pair of helping hands works wonders. Bed the rail in 3M 4000 UV, this helps with galv corrosion between the channel and SS screws plus seals the water out from getting behind the channel. tape, tape, tape... it can be a messy job!

 

[Gene Neill]

In any case, you should remove the rub rail for this job. Don't worry to much about damaging the channel, just be careful and it will be fine. This gives you the chance to really clean it out (tons of dirt stuck behind it), fix any broken screws, then use new stainless screws and put back on. Doing this in conjunction with a new rub-rail insert is ideal.

What he said.

 

[C22-Daydreamer]

Just upgraded mine. CD had some new style pieces on garage sale at half price so snapped them up. Enough to do my 76. Had several holes allowing water into the bilge. More holes than screws. I took the easy route and used 5200 to fill the holes. I know 5200 horrible. I reckon I won't be doing this again. When I installed the new tracks I used butyl tape all the way around to insure no leakage from the rub rail again. We had quite a downpour the day after I finished mounting the tracks and for the first time since owning this boat the bilge stayed dry after the rain. Still waiting on the new rubber to come in.