As a proud new owner I'm trying to fix a few (?) things onboard. After a driving rain I noticed the salon port shelf wet and too the quarter berth portside. With a '79 that only looks five years old it would be a sin to have this original interior look or smell bad. An inspection revealed water drops at the end of the toe rail bolts inside. With wife down below and me on deck we checked the toe rail bolts, found some loose and tightened them. If this doesn't completely help should I pull the bolts totally out, caulk the hole, then reinsert and secure the bolts? Or is there another remedy?
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Try the easy way first
Thats not calk it's a butul rubber tape strip, it should compress OK. Tighten up all around but don't force the issue. Every few years is about right.
Thats not calk it's a butul rubber tape strip, it should compress OK. Tighten up all around but don't force the issue. Every few years is about right.
Curious, can you reach all the . . . .
nuts from inside? I checked a few on my H37C recently, most would take at least two turns. You can feel the rubber compressing so I think they will seal just fine. But what about the ones that turn but will not snug up?
nuts from inside? I checked a few on my H37C recently, most would take at least two turns. You can feel the rubber compressing so I think they will seal just fine. But what about the ones that turn but will not snug up?
Leaking Toe rails
The problem isn't as simple as an occaisonal leaking toe rail bolt. The sides of the hull rise up and turn flat. The edge of the deck lies on top of the flat part of the hull and is held together temporarily by common screws until the toe rail can be bolted on top of the joint with the stainless bolts. Before fastening the toe rail to the boat, a "butyl tape" was laid on the seam by the builders and squished down onto the seam by the toe rail. The idea of the tape was to form a water-proof gasket to prevent water from working its way under the rail and into the boat. Over the years, the "tape" turns to goo and moves around- from the flexing of the boat, I guess- and voids occur in the seal between the toe rail and the hull. The entering water is most noticeable at the rear of the boat where water stands and can not drain off. I tried the old "tightening the screws" trick. It doesn't work. Just caulking the screws won't keep the water from entering at the joint between the hull and the deck. Two years ago, we removed the toe rails and squished a mess of polysulfide adhesive/caulk onto the seam and replaced the rails. That lasted a year. I am now looking for a proper, long lasting material to use as a gasket in place of the short-lived butyl tape. I haven't found it yet. I didn't use 3M 5200 because I figured if it still leaked after the repairs were made, I'd never get the sucker off again.
The problem isn't as simple as an occaisonal leaking toe rail bolt. The sides of the hull rise up and turn flat. The edge of the deck lies on top of the flat part of the hull and is held together temporarily by common screws until the toe rail can be bolted on top of the joint with the stainless bolts. Before fastening the toe rail to the boat, a "butyl tape" was laid on the seam by the builders and squished down onto the seam by the toe rail. The idea of the tape was to form a water-proof gasket to prevent water from working its way under the rail and into the boat. Over the years, the "tape" turns to goo and moves around- from the flexing of the boat, I guess- and voids occur in the seal between the toe rail and the hull. The entering water is most noticeable at the rear of the boat where water stands and can not drain off. I tried the old "tightening the screws" trick. It doesn't work. Just caulking the screws won't keep the water from entering at the joint between the hull and the deck. Two years ago, we removed the toe rails and squished a mess of polysulfide adhesive/caulk onto the seam and replaced the rails. That lasted a year. I am now looking for a proper, long lasting material to use as a gasket in place of the short-lived butyl tape. I haven't found it yet. I didn't use 3M 5200 because I figured if it still leaked after the repairs were made, I'd never get the sucker off again.
Leaking toe rails-continued
There are 60 screws per side and all are reachable from inside the boat. With the right tools, two handy people can get a rail off, clean up the goo and replace the rail in a day. Unfortunately, it takes four gorillas and some stout rope to bend the rail enough to get it back on again. It can be done while the boat's in the water. If anybody has an idea for proper material for a gasket, let me know. Ian Sanderson iansan11@erols.com
There are 60 screws per side and all are reachable from inside the boat. With the right tools, two handy people can get a rail off, clean up the goo and replace the rail in a day. Unfortunately, it takes four gorillas and some stout rope to bend the rail enough to get it back on again. It can be done while the boat's in the water. If anybody has an idea for proper material for a gasket, let me know. Ian Sanderson iansan11@erols.com
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