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lifeofreilly57 · 29-08-2018, 19:15

High Guys, sorry to bring up something that's probably been gone over 2000 times, but I'm short on time and in need of suggestions.
I'm completing the deck redo on my boat and am looking for feedback on deck hardware sealants.
Mast track, chain plates, windlass, cleats, drogue mounts (on the rear deck), jackline hard points, ladder mount and fore and aft pulpits, as well as mast pulpits (granny bars).
Oh, and all the portlight frames.
The port lights frames I'll use butyl rubber tape, since it's the only thing I've found across several boat refits that doesn't leak after 90 days in service. Otherwise I'm open to suggestion.
The chain plates were originally glassed in, I pulled them, had them inspected (A OK) and will be re-installing them but not glassing them in again. I do have to polish them up before re- installing them per advice from the rigging guys who inspected them, but otherwise I'm looking to get a good watertight seal there. I know from prior experience that this can be one of the more difficult areas to get watertight. Any suggestions?
Mast track was made from stainless flat stock with a teak spacer originally, it's a standard 1-1/4" track with a 1/4" spacer, I fabricated new spacers out of 316 stainless stock to emulate the old wooden spacer. It now has the same dimensions as a standard 1-1/4" T track. Whats the best way to seal that?
I like dry boats and dry cores, any suggestions are appreciated.

lifeofreilly57 · 29-08-2018, 19:17

By the way, I don't mind using different compounds for different applications, I just don't want to have to rebed everything every year.
The boat will spend the next five years in the tropics, so please take this into account. No freeze cycles for the next five years, Oh Boy!

lifeofreilly57 · 29-08-2018, 19:19

Oh, and all the deck hardware. except the cleats have cover plates.

rbk · 29-08-2018, 19:21

Grey butyl and a heat gun if it’s cold to soften it. If you can’t find any most hardware stores (plumbing), RV places might carry grey but usually white (which is softer). I’m a pinch you can usually find a roll in an RV vent re-seal kit. I’d avoid black as it’s quit stiff and leaves marks. Retourque after a week or so and then twice that again.

billknny · 29-08-2018, 19:23

Dry core is a good thing--even better than a dry cabin (although my wife might disagree!)

Do not ever count on the sealant to keep the core dry. Drill out EACH hole larger than the fastener and remove as much surrounding core as easily reached. Fill with thickened epoxy, and then re-drill to fit the fastener. Then, at the top of each fastener hole cut a countersink to give the sealant someplace to grip the fastener. I know that can be tedious if you have a long track, but it is the best way.

I use butyl tape for pretty much everything. The only time I reach for something else is for a particular cosmetic reason.

Suijin · 29-08-2018, 19:55

Butyl is good for anything that is fastened under pressure if you install it correctly.

A lot of people will tell you that boatyards don’t like butyl because it’s not “install and move on” due to the need for successive torquing, but the truth is they don’t like it because they see a LOT of failed butyl installations. If the seal breaks and the rubber gets contaminated, it’s toast.

4000uv is the sealant of choice these days as an alternative to butyl. About 2/3 the tenacity of 5200 but with greater flexibility and UV resistant. Downside is it can be a $&@!% to work with as it cures very quickly.

lifeofreilly57 · 29-08-2018, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by billknny

Dry core is a good thing--even better than a dry cabin (although my wife might disagree!)

Do not ever count on the sealant to keep the core dry. Drill out EACH hole larger than the fastener and remove as much surrounding core as easily reached. Fill with thickened epoxy, and then re-drill to fit the fastener. Then, at the top of each fastener hole cut a countersink to give the sealant someplace to grip the fastener. I know that can be tedious if you have a long track, but it is the best way.

I use butyl tape for pretty much everything. The only time I reach for something else is for a particular cosmetic reason.

Everything on this boat has received this treatment, my previous 3 boats had balsa and foam cores, this one has solid mahogany cores, they weren't worried about light weight like on my previous racer/cruisers. Just the same, old habits die hard. When I was selling my previous boat the surveyor and prospective new owner were going over that boat with a moisture meter, the surveyor commented that he hadn't seen one of those models with that dry a deck in years, when I told him how the deck had been serviced and maintained he looked at the prospective buyer and nodded, That pretty much clinched the deal, no argument on money, sold for asking price.
The hull was also dry too, I had stripped it in my first year of ownership and barrier coated it. Problem avoided.
Looking to do that with this boat too, just wondering if anything has changed since my last total refit 10 years ago.
There were damp spots in the core due to the screwed in teak deck, but nothing degraded or de-laminated, so I gave it the thousand hole isopropal alcohol treatment to dry it out then sealed everything with glass and vinylester. Now I'm going to put in the deck hardware and don't want to have to redo the interior teak again, trying to keep the water on the outside, for the most part. That's usually a good thing
Thanks.

puffcard · 29-08-2018, 20:18

I use different sealants, everything from 5200, 4000UV, butyl tube and even silicon. 4000UV is becoming my go to on deck. 5200 is one tough glue sealant, with long working times. Finds its way on ever tool that is out of the tool bag. Tape works if there is no movement, easy to remove. Silicone, stays flexible for ever, UV resistance, great on plastic and around heat. It's a pain to remove and nothing sticks to it after it drys. You should have a license to use 5200 and silicone.

CarlF · 29-08-2018, 21:40

I also like Butyl where ever something is clamped. If you haven't used MainSails butyl, it's many people's favorite:

***Buy Bed-It Butyl Tape*** Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

I have actually not been a fan of 4000UV. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I find its adhesion is hit-or-miss. I use 4200 or good old LifeCaulk (which turns an ugly tan if it is exposed to the sun but seems to last better than anything else with the inevitable expansion and contraction of deck fittings.

If I need to attach plexiglass to fiberglass (or anything), I use Dow 795

It's not a caulk but remember if you are putting a stainless screw into aluminum to use Tef-gel.

My boat builder painted the chainplates before installation below the deck level with a special primer (it was green) that the caulk sticks to - don't know what it was but I haven't had a chain plate leak.