Saildrive Rubber

[robgs]

My 40 Vision equipped with a Volvo-Penta S130 sail drive unit has a rubber cowling glued
to the hull where the sail drive leg exits the hull. This cowling does not serve as a seawater seal but provides a smooth and fair cover around the leg. The original cowling had disappeared at the time of the first haul (3 months operation). The dealer, Sail Annapolis ,
installed a new one at the start of season 2 and indicated that they had used 3M 5200 as the adhesive. At the first haul (again about 3 months) this one had partially separated from the hull. The 5200 was well bonded to the hull but had not stuck well to the rubber.

Has anyone had a similar experience losing these cowlings-any advice re adhesives or application technics?

Rob

 

[firehoser75]

Rob,
My boat is an early 2005 model year boat. At every annual haulout, I have found that the rubber in question has partially "come undone". I have used Lifecaulk (a black coloured glue-sealant) to re-affix the edges. Up to this year, that has worked. This year, the rubber seal was completely gone. I had some extensive engine work done, so I used the same mechanic to apply the new one. I am not sure what "glue" he used, and the effectiveness of said glue is still undetermined.
Hopefully others will have a tried and true product to suggest.
Tom

 

[Guest]

Hi all - maybe a little late for you but might be useful next haulout.

Mine had started to peel around the leading edge also so i sought advice from many people. The advice that seemed best was the problem is with the bond to the rubber not the hull - this was true as there was plenty of adhesive attached to the hull and very little attached to the skirt. Therefor the adhesive had to match the rubber moreover the plastic / flowcoat.

The remedy was to clean both surfaces thoroughly and rough (slightly) the hull. Apply an even smear of contact cement (yellow gel like glue that you apply with a scraper, available at any hardware store) to both surfaces - wait until touch dry then re-affix the skirt to the hull. With a rubber mallet working from the inside out drive all the air bubbles away from the centre until the entire surface has been tapped / bonded. Ensure the edges have glue just slightly bulging from between the 2 surfaces - if not you will need to add a Silastik or Sikaflex bead to prevent water ingress.

Z.

 

[robgs]

Sail Drive Rubber

For those interested:

I replaced the rubber cowling a second time before season launch in Apr this year
and used 3M 5200 adhesive. Because this adhesive takes 3-4 days to cure and it
is quite runny out of the tube I supported the glued cowling up against the hull with
a set of splints. The cowling was fine at the end of our season (late Oct).

I feel that the dealer replacement the previous year had partially detached after launch because it had not been supported in place untill sufficiently cured.

 

[firehoser75]

My newly installed (in Nov. 08) saildrive rubber came off again in July (and my boat did not move from it's slip until the middle of May - we were in Oz), this time staying affixed to the saildrive unit so that it was interfering with the prop (causing quite a shudder). The mechanic had used a "contact glue" that clearly did not adhere to the rubber. This time, we used a cement compound used for inflatable boats and the edges were sealed with a sealant like sikaflex. Hopefully this will ensure a good bond. No problems so far, but haulout is not happening until March/April. If this doesn't work, maybe I will try the 5200 as you described.
Thanks,
Tom