Hi Guys I've got a MAC 26D in refit at moment. Had a leak problem, water in bilges, definitly know it isnt the ballast tank, may be windows, but suspect the joint strip. Could this be the case?? If so how do you solve the problem?? Regards Neil G
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rub rail
Remove the rub rail and clean anything loose in the seam. Re-caulk with either 3M 4200 or 5200. The 5200 will harden to cement and not be removable so I like the 4200 myself. Tighten the seam bolts after a short wait and re-install the rub rail. I had leaks too, check the forward hatch and certainly the windows. Try getting inside while a friend uses a garden hose from the deck seam up. Do check the rear areas along with the motor well etc. Another place to check out is the cockpit drain system. Mine had come apart and was my real leak problem. steve p.
Remove the rub rail and clean anything loose in the seam. Re-caulk with either 3M 4200 or 5200. The 5200 will harden to cement and not be removable so I like the 4200 myself. Tighten the seam bolts after a short wait and re-install the rub rail. I had leaks too, check the forward hatch and certainly the windows. Try getting inside while a friend uses a garden hose from the deck seam up. Do check the rear areas along with the motor well etc. Another place to check out is the cockpit drain system. Mine had come apart and was my real leak problem. steve p.
I had leaks under my winches, cleats, etc
The hose test is a good idea. Look for little drips under all of your deck hardware.
The hose test is a good idea. Look for little drips under all of your deck hardware.
Removing Rub Rail
Last month I had completely removed the rub rail. I removed and replaced all the the screws except the wood type screws up at the bow. I bought from "McFeely.com" 100 8-32 square drive stainless screws. I went inside the boat with a 7/16 open and and a needle nose vise grip. My wife was outside with the drill driver. One by one we replaced each screw and used 5200. The whole job took about 10 hours. A good 25 of them were not even tight. After that we left the tarp off to check for leaks. Nothing was coming from the rub rail but had one leak from the bow rail. I ran a bead of silicon in the joint where the tub meets the fitting. The issue is where the wire comes through the deck though the fitting powering the bow light.
Last month I had completely removed the rub rail. I removed and replaced all the the screws except the wood type screws up at the bow. I bought from "McFeely.com" 100 8-32 square drive stainless screws. I went inside the boat with a 7/16 open and and a needle nose vise grip. My wife was outside with the drill driver. One by one we replaced each screw and used 5200. The whole job took about 10 hours. A good 25 of them were not even tight. After that we left the tarp off to check for leaks. Nothing was coming from the rub rail but had one leak from the bow rail. I ran a bead of silicon in the joint where the tub meets the fitting. The issue is where the wire comes through the deck though the fitting powering the bow light.
Rub rail replacement question?
Steve/Mark, Next week I'm replacing my M26S' old & gouged rub rail with a new one I bought from BWY. It's only 50 ft long, so it'll fall about 4 ft short of covering the entire length. I've spoken to others in the forum about replacing these & they've mentioned the need to stretch it to fit on a warm day. Well it's now fall & I'm worried about not being able to stretch it to fit & being forced to use the old one to splice in the last 3-4 ft. Can you offer us any hints/pointers on how hard it was for you to install the new one and how you did it? Thanks, Kevin B.
Steve/Mark, Next week I'm replacing my M26S' old & gouged rub rail with a new one I bought from BWY. It's only 50 ft long, so it'll fall about 4 ft short of covering the entire length. I've spoken to others in the forum about replacing these & they've mentioned the need to stretch it to fit on a warm day. Well it's now fall & I'm worried about not being able to stretch it to fit & being forced to use the old one to splice in the last 3-4 ft. Can you offer us any hints/pointers on how hard it was for you to install the new one and how you did it? Thanks, Kevin B.
Dry erase markers
When we bought our M26D it leaked like a sieve whenever it rained. On a dry day my wife aimed a garden hose at every deck fitting while I was inside using a dry erase marker to mark the leaks. After rebedding the leaky fittings we repeated the test. We had to do this several times, but eventually solved most of the leaks. The dry erase marker easily wipes off of the white fibreglas Also look for leaks under the small cover riveted over the chain plates. A design flaw with the M26D is the location of the drain for the lazorette hatch. It is on the far starboard side, which allows rain water to overflow into the lazorette if the boat has a slight list to port. This is a major problem when the trailor is parked on unlevel ground.
When we bought our M26D it leaked like a sieve whenever it rained. On a dry day my wife aimed a garden hose at every deck fitting while I was inside using a dry erase marker to mark the leaks. After rebedding the leaky fittings we repeated the test. We had to do this several times, but eventually solved most of the leaks. The dry erase marker easily wipes off of the white fibreglas Also look for leaks under the small cover riveted over the chain plates. A design flaw with the M26D is the location of the drain for the lazorette hatch. It is on the far starboard side, which allows rain water to overflow into the lazorette if the boat has a slight list to port. This is a major problem when the trailor is parked on unlevel ground.
Thanks but one more query Joint rail
Thanks for all the responses about the joint rail. One query though how the hell do you get the joint rail off? Reason I ask is I have noticed the stainless steel bolts are behind the roof combing on the sides and appear to fox thru the interior base moulding. How do you get at them to undo and if I do manage to get them out will it affect the position of the base interior moulding??
Thanks for all the responses about the joint rail. One query though how the hell do you get the joint rail off? Reason I ask is I have noticed the stainless steel bolts are behind the roof combing on the sides and appear to fox thru the interior base moulding. How do you get at them to undo and if I do manage to get them out will it affect the position of the base interior moulding??
Remove the rubber not the metal
You do not actually remove the metal part, just the rubber. Getting to the nuts inside can be tricky. Like I said, needle nose vice grips and a 7/16 open end. Using a piece of wood and some shims help separate the upper wall. You will also need to remove the wall in the head to get to the screws in there.
You do not actually remove the metal part, just the rubber. Getting to the nuts inside can be tricky. Like I said, needle nose vice grips and a 7/16 open end. Using a piece of wood and some shims help separate the upper wall. You will also need to remove the wall in the head to get to the screws in there.
Kevin use heat
Kevin, I've not done this in the cold but a trick we used at work (for softening flexible magnet material) was to use heat lamps very close but not to melt or burn the object. I suspect you could find a way to heat the strip all at once and start at one end and quickle stretch it around the bow and back to the other end. 4 feet seems a bit of a strectch (pun intended) but I'll bet it'll make it if warm enough. Do be careful to not damage the rail. If you think about it somewhere above 100 deg F should do it. It's not uncommon to get up to 110 or 115 on some very hot summer days so you could try that as a starting point for temperature. Perhaps a metal or wooden box with a fan and a heater or just heat lamps would do. Let us know how this works. Steve P.
Kevin, I've not done this in the cold but a trick we used at work (for softening flexible magnet material) was to use heat lamps very close but not to melt or burn the object. I suspect you could find a way to heat the strip all at once and start at one end and quickle stretch it around the bow and back to the other end. 4 feet seems a bit of a strectch (pun intended) but I'll bet it'll make it if warm enough. Do be careful to not damage the rail. If you think about it somewhere above 100 deg F should do it. It's not uncommon to get up to 110 or 115 on some very hot summer days so you could try that as a starting point for temperature. Perhaps a metal or wooden box with a fan and a heater or just heat lamps would do. Let us know how this works. Steve P.
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