Best Caulk

[mmsailor]

What is the best caulk for hull to deck joint? and around fixed ports, etc, In the past I had used 5200 and remember reading here that that is not the prefered, product, , so lets have it , thanks Mike B

 

[Darrel Richards]

5200

3M 5200 is an adhesive/sealent. I have found that it doesn't get much better than that. The only problem is that the adhesive qualities are such that it is difficult to separate pieces that have been sealed with this stuff. I use it whenever or where ever I need to stop a leak and find that it works great. Just remember that if you use it to seal up a window, as an example,that if you ever want to remove that window for any reason it will be difficult, but not impossible. 5200 works above or below the water line so that is an indicator as to how well it works.

 

[Michael Stephens]

Through Hulls

What do you use on your through hull transducers?Michael Stephens

 

[Steve Dion]

Caulk depends on the job.

Mike:5200 is a perfect product for the hull to deck joint, keel to hull. But as far as I am concerned there are not too many other places to use this stuff.4200 is better for something like ports, but I like Life products for hardware, ports etc.

 

[Tim Sullivan, PE]

My experience with 5200

Based on my experience, I view 5200 as a adhesive, with sealant properties. As an example, I used 5200 around my shroud chain-plates and found that water was able to leak in around these chain-plates. Next year I resealed with 5200 and two years later, leak-city. The point is 5200 is a great adhesive, but I have found that it failed as an adhesive. My theory, only a theory, is that 5200 breaks down and loses it's flexibility when exposed to sunlight (i.e. UV radiation).I used 100% silicone sealant above the water line and 5200 below the water line.