Deck seal leaks on hunter 37cutter
- Thread starter Oldsailor72
- Start date
Have you first tried tightening all of the toe rail bolts? Hunter used butyl tape as hull/deck/toerail sealant which has remained flexible at least for the current lifetime of my 1980 built 36. My re-tighten of my bolts solved the problem for me. If this of interest let us know and I can find the link to previous posts with more how-to details.
As for your exact question. Yes, I have seen in books and on the Internet the process for resealing the whole to Deck joint. Essentially the toe rail must be removed first. Then pry the joint apart just an inch or so gap in small manageable sections. Insert new sealant in the gap. Then gradually move further along until the whole side is done. You will need to research for more info on the process.
rardi
As for your exact question. Yes, I have seen in books and on the Internet the process for resealing the whole to Deck joint. Essentially the toe rail must be removed first. Then pry the joint apart just an inch or so gap in small manageable sections. Insert new sealant in the gap. Then gradually move further along until the whole side is done. You will need to research for more info on the process.
rardi
Rardi nailed it
Re-tightening the bolts has done it for me for 14 years.
The other trick that helped was to lay a bead of 5200 where the toerail meets the deck. (If I think about the geometry of the joint and the toerail, significant amounts of water must either come from the inner edge of the toerail, where it meets the deck, or through the bolt holes. I have no evidence of dripping fron the bolts to indicate the latter source.)
Re-tightening the bolts has done it for me for 14 years.
The other trick that helped was to lay a bead of 5200 where the toerail meets the deck. (If I think about the geometry of the joint and the toerail, significant amounts of water must either come from the inner edge of the toerail, where it meets the deck, or through the bolt holes. I have no evidence of dripping fron the bolts to indicate the latter source.)
I have had the toe rails off of Midnight Sun twice in the 34 years I have owned the boat. First time was 1989 to reseal the hull/deck joint. The second was a couple of years ago to replace the toe rails after a major collision. My boat's hull/deck joint was sealed with 3M5200. Not the tape used later. I don't think the butyl tape was used until 1981. I have a copy of the boat review that Hal Roth did in 1980, and he states that they were using 5200 at that time. I had heard that they had switched because of cost factors. In any case, after having the toe rails removed I found no evidence of the joint leaking. I did find a LOT of evidenct that the leaks were coming around the bolt holes for the stanchions. When the rails were again removed a couple of years ago there was still no evidence of leaking. And gentlemen, I sail the crap out of my boat. I believe most "toerail" leaks are blamed on the wrong culprit. That being said, in the late 80's I talked to an engineer at hunter who told me that the biggest mistake boat owners make with the butyl tape seal is to overtighten the fasteners and squeeze all the tape out. I don't know if this helps. By the way all the fasteners for the toe rails are readily accessable on my boat.
Blaise:
I'm glad that I saw this ... but probably too late for me and "Wildaire". As I would be re-tightening each bolt (6" centers) along my toe rail in about 2010, I did sometimes cringe .... because the consideration you citied above was actually crossing my mind.
But 30 years on since built, I just felt that at that point, just crank them down. So from today, maybe still good for another 10 years. That equals 44 years since the boat was built. That will confirm that these were fine boats. 10 years from now, I will have had "Wildaire" for almost 20 years (plus add the previous owners for the previous 24 years = 44 years!). If the boat at that point still can interest a new owner, then she/he can address the issue. If the boat can't interest a new owner, then regrettably the Army Corp of Engineer's demolition facility, which I can view from my slip, will be the next "owner". (On this, I often wonder about the adventures and memories behind the boats I watch being forever extinguished.)
Today while at my volunteer work to help build a re-incarnation of a 1890's 135 foot wooden tall sailing ship currently in progress in Sausalito, CA ... pushing a hundred or so 20' pieces of rough-cut 8"x2" lumber through a series of really serious power tools (joiner to true up one side, then ship's planer to true up the other side, then ship's band saw to true up the edge for the next steps), I would flip back in my mind to our Cherubini's. Wondering if they will live on as well as the re-creation of the tall ship we are building.
www.educationaltallship.org
rardiH36