Topside leaks

[Kevin C 26S]

Hi,I've been getting rain water in my bilge, and figure I created some leaks when I tightened up my rigging.I plan to caulk/seal around where the shrouds connect to the deck (chain plates?).What do you all suggest I use for this task? Any special caulk?Thanks,Kevin

 

[1974 Venture 24]

Good thing you asked...

First of all the bible of sailboat repair....Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair By Don Casey.I put a link below. This book is an amazing resource! Anyway for the chainplates I'd pull them off first clean all of the old gunk off of them. Then use polyurethane to glue it back and when I say glue it back thats just what it is. Once you stick it with polyurethane it's not coming off easily... nor will it leak. 3m makes a decent polyurethane glue I think they call it marine adhesive 5400 or something like that. It is about 15 bucks a tube. Personally I use PL brand from lowes or home depot. It's polyurethane, it's waterproof, and it's 3.50 a tube... It's the same thing they just market towards construction rather then boaters... The downside to it is you may not like the color and prefer to spend for the color. If you go with polyurethane wear gloves.. my fingers are all stained black right now because I used it to glue the deck back to the hull on my boat. Silicone is only for gaskets... other than that it's pretty much a waste. All of this is found in the book I mentioned.I hope this helps.Jason

 

[Kevin C 26S]

Thanks for the response...

Any advice on taking off the chainplates? This does not sound like fun!

 

[Greg Pecaut]

Not really chain plates

You really don't have to touch the chain plates, but the covers where they go through the deck, they leak! They are usually held in with pop rivets. Use a small nail and knock out the end, then drill through the pop rivet. Then you can lift and clean under the covers, and around the chain plate. 5200 works great, and lasts for years. Now beore sealing the chain plate covers, step your mast and tune the rigging. This way you do not crack the new sealant you just did all this work to replace, the first time you step your mast. Put the sealant around the chain plates and around the pop rivet holes, set the chain plate covers back where they go, and I just use stainless screws through the chain plate covers in to the old pop rivet holes. Don't tighten down too much. You want to leave sealant between the covers and the deck. Quick clean up the mess before it dries. Most sealants will clean up with water untill they set. Some require acetone. This usually is the biggest deck leak on these boats. The other leak, that is a real pain to fix is a deck to hull joint leak. Lets hope you don't have that one. The windows tend to leak on some of the older ones too. Make sure to rebed all your through deck hardware too. Good luck.

 

[Chris]

Hull/deck fix pictures

I would use 3M 4000 instead. It has higher UV resistance and you can get it apart a few years down the road when it starts to leak again. I've seen screws twist off when 5200 gets on the threads - stuff is permanent...I'll also add that you can have a "dry Mac". We fixed the chain plates as described as well as the hull/deck joint and all the staunchon bases. The hull/deck fix was not that difficult. Remove the rub rail, snug up the bolts (not too tight) and work in a "cap" of 4000 sealant.I've attached a link to a picture of of the work in progress. The rub rail just snapped back on - again, if you feel the need to use sealant, use 4000 or you'll never get it off in one piece again.We also had a problem with the DPO installed bilge pump. When heeled, water flowed in the thruhull and back to the pump. Whale makes a check valve that'll prevent this. We tried to get a loop of the pipe as high as possible, but it was not high enough.Chris

 

[Chris]

You'll love this pic too!

Talk about major hull/deck joint leakage!Check the water marks on each side. All this was the day after we got her home - rained all night and we just about cried when we saw this in the morning.But - nothing but dust bunnies in the bilge now. Definitely worth the afternnon it took to fix.Chris

 

[CP-Mike]

Never use 5200 for this

...or any other thing that you may need to re-bed or remove later. 5200 can crack, especially when exposed to UV for extended periods of time. Trying to remove fully cured 5200 usually results in taking off the first layer of fiberglass as well. Also, don't waste your time using anything silicone-based. It will fail in no time at all. I second the recommendation of Don Casey's books. They're well written, down to earth, and easy to understand. You can get em used on Amazon for like $10. I would definitely recommend 3M 4000 or 4200. I can't remember what the difference is off the top of my head, but Casey's book spends a few pages discussing the different types of adhesives/sealants and their optimal uses. Two of the principal benefits of 4200 (and probably 4000 as well) are that it is UV resistant and permanently flexible. So if you do tighten your rig or whatever, you won't crack the sealant.

 

[Kevin C 26S]

Thanks to all...

Thanks for the advice. I think I can take it from here.Just an interesting note, at Amazon you can do an inside the book search on Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair By Don Casey. I was able to find and read the pages that describe this repair.Now, I will probably buy the book someday... but for now, I was able to glean what I needed.Thanks to all again!Kevin