Bedding gasket material?

[Jim W23131]

While replacing my bulkhead I am going to rebed all my deck fittings and I was wondering if there is some better system for bedding fittings. It seems like some kind of gasket material with the use of a sealant would be more effective. What is the best bedding or sealant to use?ThanksJim

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

To reduce leaks?

If that's your motive, good idea with gaskets.My victory in the quest to stop the leaks ran through 17 separate projects. The breakthrough was recaulking rubrail (topside only).

 

[Jim W23131]

great input, thanks

Thanks for the input. The stansions seals are about the only thing I wasn't planning on replacing. Maybe I should. I think most of the water is coming through the starboard window or whatever its called and the chainplates. First things first. My boat goes in tomorrow with the mast down. I begin the Bulkhead replacement. Not sure of how it will go, but there is only one way to find out. I sail out of Nelson Marina in Island heights. Boats name is YOLO.

 

[Jim]

Ah! Marty Nelson!

I know Nelson's well, great spot, beautiful location. Marty's Ensigns...hope you splash before the rain! Have fun.... Jim

 

[crazy dave]

It would have been helpful to which boat

It would have been helpful to which bulkhead and which boat. There are several caulks and certain ways to do things. Caulking a rub rail on top is not going to seal leaks alone and in fact, it is something to where I would take it off to see what is going on. Generally, folks forget to caulk those pesky screws on the rub rail. There could be a break of the old sealant between the deck to hull joint. If you have an older style boat like the 23, generally the leaks were at the chain plate because the cover plate(removable by four screws) simply needed caulking.

 

[Jim]

I agree........

Jim (I suspect we are neighbors on Barnegat Bay?) I have done alot of deck rebedding over the years, although not to my H-27 yet. I agree that a gasket of some sort is a good idea, and that's what I use, especially to rebed stanchions. I spent some time looking for a white gasket material that I could cut to size and fit as a gasket underneath stanchions and deck hardware. I finally found that simple white rubber flat sink stoppers from www.plumbshop.com were the perfect solution. At about 5" diameter, they can be cut to size, and work perfectly as a gasket. They are white. Item# PS2278 @ $1.59 <G> I ordered 12 pieces, so I always have a white gasket handy whenever I need one. I also have seen them at local hardware stores. With a little 3200 and the gasket, you'll have watertight seal and bond. Set, fasten, let sit for 24-48 hours, and then tighten as with all bonding adhesive sealants. See you on the bay? Jim