handrails

[rick robbins]

i have a leak at one of the screws holding the handrail to top of boat. i want to remove the handrail and repair the leak. between the handrail and deck top is some sort of material(almost like a rubber membrane).do i need to replace this material when i make the repair and if so what is this material? thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts on this matter

 

[john renfro]

leak

the stuff under the rail is some type of foam tapeto compress and seal irregularities between the wood and fiberglass. when i removed my wood for the same reason, the tape was cracked and shrunken, that was the cause of the leaks around the screws in the cabin. when removed, the tape left wide gaps. i couldn't find a replacement, double sided carpet tape was three times to thin to fill gaps so i blobed on a lot of silicon sealer and after lots of rain, it seems to work ok john

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Catalina Owners]

Don't use silicone

Silicone is a great temporary sealant but for anything even remotely long term go with 3M 4200. The silicone will break down & you'll get leaks again much more quickly than if you'd used 4200. Whatever you do, don't use 5200. Only use 5200 if you never expect to have to rebed that item again cuz you ain't getting that sucker off! Handrails will undoubtedly have to be rebed sometime in the future, so 4200 is called for.Here's a step by step: Remove the handrails. Clean off all old sealant. Wipe area with acetone. Now this is important: drill all holes double size. Tape the undersides & fill with epoxy. Don't use filler, just straight runny epoxy. You might find that it disappears which means you have a bit of a void. This *could* be a problem if it's large. Probably will be ok though. So just keep filling till they top off & won't take any more. Let it cure. Drill out the right sized holes & install the rails using 4200 as the bedding compound. Voila!LaDonna

 

[Richard]

interesting product for sealing deck items

I have been trying some sort of butyl putty compound that I got at an RV store. An email list I belong to is really getting into using this and so far I have used it on stanchions, pedistal, jib tracks, and a rope clutch.It is about 3/4 to 1in wide and comes on a roll that is about 50 feet long and costs about 5.00. It requires no curing like lifecaulk, is easy to clean up (trim off excess with a knife), is not messy at all (like silicone), etc. They use it to seal RV windows so it is water tight.I can't speak of longterm sun and saltwater exposure yet, but so far I am impressed.