Removing Deck Hardware / What To Do With the Holes?

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

I wanted to share a method I have used as a temporary and sometimes even permanent solution for the holes when deck hardware has been moved or removed.

Our boat has been upgraded to self tailing winches and we had not used the fixed cleats on the cockpit coaming since we bought the boat. The kids were banging heads on them so I figured it was time for them to go..

Here's what I did..

To make this an easy one person job I simply use my cordless impact wrench. This allows the nuts to be removed from one side only using no wrench or screw driver on deck.



Less Than 30 seconds later and notice the absolute lack of rust or moisture. These cleats were still bone dry after 29 years!!!! Why? Butyl tape as a bedding compound!!


Yep still totally flexible and water proof after nearly 30 years! Oh and SUPER EASY TO REMOVE!! These cleats used to see decent loads, before the ST's so it's PROOF you don't need to GLUE mechanically fastened hardware onto your boat!!


For the butyl doubters and pro 5200 crowd I present 29 year old BONE DRY CORE!! This core was protected and kept dry for nearly 30 years by NON-ADHESIVE butyl tape!!!!!


Spider crazing/cracking is caused by not feathering or beveling the edges of the hole drilled through gelcoat.


I countersunk each hole. Doing so creates an o-ring of bedding compound, in this case butyl tape, with a sufficient thickness to prevent leaking and it also minimizes the chances of spider cracking:


Choose a fastener to fill the hole? I prefer what are called Truss Head fasteners as there are less points for potential leakage and the head sits nice and low to the deck. The Truss Head is all the way to the left:


I used gray 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick butyl tape to install the fasteners used to hide the holes:


I wraped & mold the butyl into a cone so it fits down into the countersunk hole and gives a 100% seal:


Tighten everything down with the impact driver:


Where the cleat used to be and can be again. This is a lot easier than trying to match a gelcoat color and then create a non skid pattern that matches:



This project, removing two cleats and filling the holes with Truss Head machine screws, took me about a half hours total time including cleaning up the non skid with a Magic Eraser, paint thinner and some Acetone.

Just another option for a question I see here often..

[knottybuoyz]

Nice turorial Acoustic. Well cone.

I for one am a firm believer in "Gorilla Snot" (AKA Butyl Tape").

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

Nice turorial Acoustic. Well cone.

I for one am a firm believer in "Gorilla Snot" (AKA Butyl Tape").

Gorrila Snot is not quite that thick.. King Kong snot is much closer to butyl tape in consistency...

[cabo_sailor]

Where do you get the butyl tape? I've been using some black butyl nitrate tape I gotten from the autoparts store but it's kind of thick since it is used to seal windshields. I want to replace some of the silicone sealant around the portlights and the thickness you show looks ideal.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

Where do you get the butyl tape? I've been using some black butyl nitrate tape I gotten from the autoparts store but it's kind of thick since it is used to seal windshields. I want to replace some of the silicone sealant around the portlights and the thickness you show looks ideal.

RV Stores have it and you can find it on-line. Use gray though as it's MUCH less messy!!!

Here's a source:
Mobile Home Parts Store

[knottybuoyz]

Most composite supply, fiberglass, epoxy etc. stores/sellers will have it as well. Guys who do vacuum bagging and resin infusion use a lot of it. HVAC suppliers will likely carry it as well.

[GordMay]

Glaziers use butyl tape.

[cabo_sailor]

Thank you gentlemen, I do believe that will do the trick nicely. It's also a bunch cheaper than the stuff from the auto parts store. Looks like $5 would do for everything I wish to do and then some.

Rich

[captintommy]

Would the butyl work to seal the top of a water tank? I have resealed the top of my tank several times and it still leaks when over filled.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by captintommy

Would the butyl work to seal the top of a water tank? I have resealed the top of my tank several times and it still leaks when over filled.

Probably not and I don't think it's NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) safe??? What is it that you are sealing a threaded fitting or a crack in the tank??

[captintommy]

The top of the tank is under the starboard settee and is secured with two dozen screws. I have removed the top,striped the old sealant,put down a fresh bead of sealant and replaced the screws until the sealant starts being extruded. After the sealant has cured I tightened the screws and it still leaks.
What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by captintommy

The top of the tank is under the starboard settee and is secured with two dozen screws. I have removed the top,striped the old sealant,put down a fresh bead of sealant and replaced the screws until the sealant starts being extruded. After the sealant has cured I tightened the screws and it still leaks.
What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions.

It may very well be because you are waiting for the sealant to CURE!! A la, Don Casey, method!! I bet it's leaking around the screws that you broke the seal on by twisting them after the sealant had cured or in the movement between the two surfaces when you tightened it.. Think about it? It does not make sense to MOVE a sealant that much after cure or twist fasteners that are IN the cured sealant!!

This Don Casey method, of creating a gasket, is perhaps the worst thought out idea and the worst advice in all of boating.. But what the heck it's kept thousands of boat yard employees employed doing deck re-cores over the years...

Try cleaning it up applying a good bead and tightening it all the way down. There is still no guarantee because if this is an integral tank to the hull, flex may be the culprit and the only real cure then is to completely glass it in or buy a custom made poly tank to fit the opening ..

[captintommy]

Acoustic
You may be correct in the observation that the top should be tightened one time and let cure. I will try your suggestion and reseal without resetting the screws.
Thanks for the thought of a custom tank but that ain't gonna happen!!!!
Thanks for the help.
Tom

[DeepFrz]

The idea is to not turn the screw after letting the sealant cure for a day. The method is only appropriate for through bolted fixtures where you can tighten the nut while someone holds the screw from moving. And do you actually think Don Casey invented that idea?

Commenting on an earlier post, 5200 sealant should only be used for things that you don't ever want to come apart, like the hull to deck joint. 4200 is a much more appropriate sealant for deck fittings.

I don't care how good your sealant is, and butyl is the way to go for these things, you should ALWAYS drill out the core and replace it with a plug of epoxy, and then redrill for the fasteners.

That is the way you keep you core dry always and forever.

Leaving core exposed in any deck fastening is a cheap shortcut and all offenders should be keelhauled.