how much butyl tape to order to rebed my deck hardware?

[JonnyQuest]

I have never used butyl tape, and for that matter have never rebedded my deck hardware--but its time.

How many rolls would be needed to complete rebedding on my sailboat? and does the left-over tape have a shelf life to last? I assume it does. My boat is a 1975 27' O'Day sailboat, and has a standard complement of stanchions, cleats, pulleys, and blocks.

Any ideas on how much to get the job done? Here's a photo to give a general sense of my deck hardware--usual complement of hardware.

Thanks!

 

[Maine Sail]

I would go with 3-4 rolls. As for shelf life I bought a case of it back in 1998 and as of last spring, before I began selling it, I was still working off that case and it still worked just fine....

 

[JonnyQuest]

I would go with 3-4 rolls. As for shelf life I bought a case of it back in 1998 and as of last spring, before I began selling it, I was still working off that case and it still worked just fine....

Thanks for the info Maine Sail, I'll put in an order in the next couple of days then.

JQ

 

[Ed Schenck]

Maine, I see in your excellent butyl tape article( http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/63554-bedding-deck-hardware-butyl-tape.html ) that you used 1/16". If a guy were to buy more than one roll then what widths and thicknesses would make a good starter set? Is there one brand that is better than the others?

 

[shawnee_sailor]

I bought the 1/16 x 1/2 inch butyl tape from Maine Sail last spring. Now, I've still got a lot of hardware to rebed, but from what I've done already, I'll still have one out of three rolls left over.

Granted, my boat is only 19 ft, so you may want to buy more than three rolls.

Can't say enough good things about this stuff. It takes one or two beddings to get the hang of it, but after that, it's wonderful stuff.

The best thing about it is that when you've tightened down the joint, any excess just cleans up by rubbing it with your finger. Nothing like other caulks...

 

[Maine Sail]

Maine, I see in your excellent butyl tape article( http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/63554-bedding-deck-hardware-butyl-tape.html ) that you used 1/16". If a guy were to buy more than one roll then what widths and thicknesses would make a good starter set? Is there one brand that is better than the others?

Ed,

1/16" is the thickness and 1/2" wide is the width, it is perfect for re-bedding.

There are vast differences in butyl tape, who knew, and the stuff I sourced is top quality though not the cheapest. I went through dozens of manufacturers before I found the right stuff. RV and roofing butyl are not even close and are messy, have a high solvent content, do not have the right duromater rating and can bleed fairly badly.. 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick works perfectly for just about any piece of hardware you need bedded..

I've gone through lots of pallets and not one person has complained or returned even a single roll. Some of the stuff you buy out there, sold as butyl tape, is not even butyl tape....I had a customer send me a $14.00 roll of what appeared to be plumbers putty in a roll that had zero stretch and was sold as butyl by an RV store.....

You can buy it here if you want to try some...
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/butyl_tape

 

[Fred Villiard]

Maine, I'm rebuilding a Mac 25, putting on Garlik outboard mount and wondering if I should use the butyl tape to bed it. The bottom of it is about 2 inches from the water line.

 

[Maine Sail]

Maine, I'm rebuilding a Mac 25, putting on Garlik outboard mount and wondering if I should use the butyl tape to bed it. The bottom of it is about 2 inches from the water line.

Fred,

For that I would use Sikaflex 291 or 295UV...

 

[Fred Villiard]

Maine, Thank you, I didn't think that butyl would be the best for that!