Beneteau 331 rear swim platform teak insert

[CABixler]

Greetings been a while. Great group.
My swim platform teak inset in my 2002 B331 has been loose for several years. Just one side so water gets under there and it kind of squishes out water as you step on it. Getting reading here in Chicago to get into the water for another start to hopefully a great season.

I noticed it really not too thick and was told an replacement was not available. Which is fine as the present one is on solid shape just loose.

I'm thinking to do the repair proper I should gently pry up the insert and clean the pocket and insert.

What adhesive would you recommend to hold it back down. I was thinking epoxy and weight it down (couple buckets of water on a plywood base).

Epoxy is permanent but would but overkill? Another option maybe be 3M 4200 which I jut bought a big tube to re-chaulk my stainless prop sleeve to the hull.

Thanks.....Craig

 

[DougM]

I did a repair of that piece on my 323.
I managed to separate the teak insert from the fiberglass using a thin flat spatula at the edges, and then heavy monofiliament fishing line, sawing the adhesive between the teak piece and the fiberglass. It really separated quite easily.
I then completely cleaned the old adhesive from the fiberglass, and used an orbital sander th clean the back side of the teak plywood.. When the cleaning was complete, I reattached the plywood to the fiberglass using a high quality construction adhesive, weighted down the panel with a sack of water softener salt that was handy and conformed to the slightly concave deck surface.
After letting it set for a day, I completely recaulked the perimeter.

Alternatively, you could look for a product like Plasteak lookalike material or similar that is used on a lot of powerboats instead of the wood decking. The stuff doesn’t look bad and seems to be resilient.

 

[CABixler]

edges, and then heavy monofiliament fishing line, sawing the adhesive between the teak piece and the fiberglass. It really separated quite easily.

Great idea with the fishing line and the bag as weight. Thanks……

 

[Davidasailor26]

4200 feels to me like about the right amount of permanence. Epoxy would work but I’d be worried about getting it off if the wood wore down more and needed replacement.

 

[CABixler]

4200 feels to me like about the right amount of permanence. Epoxy would work but I’d be worried about getting it off if the wood wore down more and needed replacement.

Sorry just saw this. I need to enable notifications. All went well but 4200 for this size was just so expensive I went with an extra strength waterproof liquid nail type caulk tube and used a notched blade to spread even. I also bought two 50 pound bags of plays and that fit perfect and put a few hardwood boards around the perimeter under the sand to temporarily press down. Let it sit for a few days.

I was going to bring the sand home for my grandkids but so heavy I was too lazy and just cut them open to drain into the lake and through the empty bags into the trash.

 

[Bluenose]

Try it and see how it goes. S/B OK. I use LePage's construction glue. That is an outdoor waterproof glue. Putting the black stuff on is a real mess...use lots of masking tape!

 

[CABixler]

Try it and see how it goes. S/B OK. I use LePage's construction glue. That is an outdoor waterproof glue. Putting the black stuff on is a real mess...use lots of masking tape!

Well I went down a couple days ago and it was an absolute failure! I stepped onto the swim platform teak and is squished out a soupy white mixture of the liquid nails. Zero hold.

I’ll lift up clean the mess up then try again. This time with a tube of 4200 which a friend used two years ago and it’s holding. I was stupid try to save a few bucks and paid the price

agree will tape around when doing the black silicone down

 

[Bluenose]

What I have used successfully on these is LePage's PL Premium construction adhesive. Get it at Lowe's or Home Hardware. No need to go to a marine store. You will need a gun as it is in a tube. Get a good gun while you are at it as it will last a lifetime and much easier to use.

 

[CABixler]

I took it off yesterday and parts were hard and sticking but much of it was a white soupy mess.
I'll clean off and re-sand light and try again.

Thanks for the advice on LePage's but I already bought a tube of 3M 4200 as that's what a friend used and I already bought it. I think I'll also cobble up a hardwood frame to help even out the pressure from the 50 lb sand bag.

I'm a old school woodworker and I have some teak and part of me wants to just remake a new slightly thicker one. Maybe slightly thicker. Mine is barely a 1/4" thick.

 

[Bluenose]

OK, but don't use 50 pounds - too much. Squeezes the stuff out.