I have a 2008 Hunter 38 sailboat and the inset material in the seating areas of the cockpit are coming up. The rubber like material has pulled away from the caulking allowing water which is causing the adhesive to soften in the heat of the day. I spoke with Marlo-Hunter the new company and they recommended I remove the inserts (the company which made them has gone under also) and replace with a new material like non-skid. Has anyone experienced this problem on their boat or come up with a viable solution.
delaminated rubber seating areas in cockpit
- Thread starter pfinn
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I have a 2008 38 as well. We have not experienced what you are seeing. The material in insets is synthetic teak - essentially its PVC. In my owners manual stuff that came with the boat there was a brochure from the manufacturer. Company is Flexiteek and their web site is http://www.flexiteek.com Are you sure they are out of business? I found them on line. Actually bought some material from them last year. You actually work with their distributors not direct. And I could swear I've seen ads in some of the sailing magazines recently My project was to upgrade the non skid on the companionway steps. What the boat came with was this translucent stick on stuff. It held dirt, was impossible to clean and then started to let go. I contacted the Flexiteek distributor for the Michigan area (SeaJay Marine Group) sent them pictures of what I was trying to do,we talked on the phone, they made design suggestions, quoted me the cost, shipped the material and the adhesive, gave me instructions on how to do it. From experience getting the right fit / look for your insets is the difficult part. The actual installation isn't too bad. I can't say enough good about how helpful the woman at SeaJay was. Was a great experience, looks great, provides sure non skid footing on the stairs, and was easy to install. If they aren't available try Permateak, Plasteak, or NuTeak. They all make similar products. I had a second thought. If the Flexiteek is in good shape, can you just contact one of the distributors and get some new adhesive? Maybe you can carefully work up the edges, apply new adhesive and seal it back down
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I have a 2008 Hunter 45DS and I am seeing a similar issue to what you describe. The caulk around the Flexiteek has shrunk over time (or potentially pulled away due to the lack of adhesion?), and allowed water to attack the bond between the Flexiteek and gelcoat. I'm wondering how you finally resolved your issue. Also, removing the old caulk is not an easy task. I thought about using the 3M Caulk Remover, but 3M indicated that they do NOT recommend using it for this type of application. I'd certainly hate to use something that attacks the gelcoat or the Flexiteek. :cry:
So... my questions are:
- Did you end up removing your Flexiteek and putting down new adhesive?
- If so, what adhesive did Hunter recommend?
- Did you remove the old caulk and replace it? I know that Hunter now recommends Dow Corning 795 Silicone Glass Glazing Sealant, and I have that product in-hand.
resolution to my problem
The Flexiteek panels peeled off simply by pulling up by hand. I found that the original installation by Hunter was done with a double sided adhesive tape. If this is your situation you will need to remove it. I had to use a razor blade scrapper to remove the pastic tape and clean up the remaining glue on the gelcoat with acetone. I did not try to remove the old caulking as it was well adhered to the gelcoat areas. I contacted a Flexiteek installer (954) 973-4335 or (C) (954) 260-7406, that recommended using Bostic 940A adhesive sealant to reinstall the Flexiteek material which I ordered from them. This material comes in small plastic tubes that you cut open and squeeze out by hand (a little messy) and spread with a trowel tool which you need to ask them to send also. Putting the Flexiteek panels back down you must make sure they are in the correct location because once the panel touches the adhesive it won't move. Try calling these people they were a big help to me. I can assure you these panels are down to stay. I used a silcone caulk to fill in between the old caulking and the Flexiteek. Good luck
Re: resolution to my problem
Thanks for the quick follow-up, pfinn!
A little more information I learned today from Flexiteek... Hunter switched from Flexiteek sometime in 2008 to a product called "PlasDeck" which used a double-sided adhesive of some sort. I think I'm going to lift one of my pieces to see if I have the same product, but my boat was manufactured in mid- to late-2007.
Thanks for the quick follow-up, pfinn!
A little more information I learned today from Flexiteek... Hunter switched from Flexiteek sometime in 2008 to a product called "PlasDeck" which used a double-sided adhesive of some sort. I think I'm going to lift one of my pieces to see if I have the same product, but my boat was manufactured in mid- to late-2007.
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Got it done!
Just to follow-up, I replaced the PlasDeck material that Hunter originally used on our boat with Flexiteek. I am VERY happy with the new product.
<edit> I should have mentioned that I used the Bostik 940A adhesive recommended by Charlie Lucey of Yacht Deck where I got the Flexiteek (http://www.yachtdeck.com, closer to me than FL!), and the caulking was performed with Dow Corning 795 Silicone Glass Glazing Sealant, which is the same material used to bed the outside glass panels on skyscrapers. I won't have to worry about this issue again!
Just to follow-up, I replaced the PlasDeck material that Hunter originally used on our boat with Flexiteek. I am VERY happy with the new product.
<edit> I should have mentioned that I used the Bostik 940A adhesive recommended by Charlie Lucey of Yacht Deck where I got the Flexiteek (http://www.yachtdeck.com, closer to me than FL!), and the caulking was performed with Dow Corning 795 Silicone Glass Glazing Sealant, which is the same material used to bed the outside glass panels on skyscrapers. I won't have to worry about this issue again!
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