Hi. See pic attached. Where the two piece rubrail meets the hull I cleaned up some awful caulking from PO. What would you recommend sealing the gap with? As for the toe rail am I going to have to pull it off to seal it because the gap is very small? If so I'm just using butyl tape right? And only around where the toe rail fastens not the entire stretch right?
Sealing rubrail to hull
- Thread starter Capri
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,789
My thoughts... If the rub rail is sitting in a grove not physically attached in position then the rub rail is not designed to be sealed. It is meant to let water flow through and out. The deck to hull joint is where the sealant is located. The rub rail is meant to protect the hull to deck joint. You do not want to seal water in under the rub rail where it can find it's way through the deck hull joint.
That said, if you have screws or thru bolts that secure the rub to the deck then use of buytl or something like 3M's 4000/4200 are good to stop water from around the screw/bolt hole.
If you find that the place where the PO used sealant has or had a leak into your cabin, then the issue is more likely the screw/bolt holes or damage occurred to the deck/hull joint in that area and sealant on the rub rail would be like putting a band-aid on your shin when you have a cut on your arm. You will need to remove the rub rail and examine the site for the cause not the symptom.
Best of luck and let us know what you find.
That said, if you have screws or thru bolts that secure the rub to the deck then use of buytl or something like 3M's 4000/4200 are good to stop water from around the screw/bolt hole.
If you find that the place where the PO used sealant has or had a leak into your cabin, then the issue is more likely the screw/bolt holes or damage occurred to the deck/hull joint in that area and sealant on the rub rail would be like putting a band-aid on your shin when you have a cut on your arm. You will need to remove the rub rail and examine the site for the cause not the symptom.
Best of luck and let us know what you find.
Thanks everyone. You've definitely got me thinking if this is even necessary. I'll follow back up.
I have the same construction and the boat arrived from the factory without any sealant. Just let the water flow in the top and out the bottom. Every spring, I take a hose and blow the crap out. If the deck-hull joint is solid, I can't see the water flow affecting anything.
This was my post on the subject.
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/rub-rail-caulking.178049/#post-1283322
After a lot of good input from many, I decided only to caulk a small 2' section on both sides where my boat's deck drains overboard. It is way down my list of TO DO's but will send pictures when done.
Jim...
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/rub-rail-caulking.178049/#post-1283322
After a lot of good input from many, I decided only to caulk a small 2' section on both sides where my boat's deck drains overboard. It is way down my list of TO DO's but will send pictures when done.
Jim...