We're all the help you need. Well, us and alot of _________. Just remember, you can never really do anyting that can't be repaired. But it all does take time. If I were closer to the seas I probably wouldn't have elected to do everything at one time. Instead, pick away at the list and enjoy some time sailing.
Your seam refurbishment sounds perfect for the bill. Are you going to refasten the stainles rubrail or abandon it?
I had the same problem with hull deck seam leaks on hull #330. The screws merely hold the rub rail in place and not the hull to the deck. A previous owner removed and replaced the rail with longer fatter screws that penetrated through into the cabin. You could see the tips of the screws sticking through the inside of the hull, and rust streaks running down the inside of the hull in the cabin and cockpit lockers from each protruding screw tip.
I removed the rails, cleaned the hull/deck seam out with hand tools. In some cases the seam was narrow and in some cases wide. A thin plastic cutting knife with sharp hooked blade worked best for getting rid of the combination of original failed caulk and uggggh! (a previous owner's silicon job).
I then cleaned the joint with solvent that was marketed to deal with the silicon, and secondly with acetone. I then filled the screw holes with epoxy...a bit of a mess. There were significant voids between the body of the hull and the cold joint overlapping laminate, so a fair amount of epoxy went down and out of my syringe into the void. I was not endeavoring to fill the joint, but only the screw holes.
Afterwards, I filled the entire seam with 3M 5200 (it remains somewhat flexible, whereas epoxy doesn't). I faired the 5200 level with the outside of the hull. I like working with 5200. It is fairly user friendly, doesn’t sag much, and it cleans up nicely. When the 5200 set up sufficiently, I reattached the rail rub with 3M 4200. 3M. 4200 is messy and a real pain to apply and keep stuck onto the underside of that rail, but is 4200 less adhesive on metal than is 5200, and so I reasoned that I might in the future remove the rub rail without a jack hammer if need be, while leaving the underlying 5200-filled hull/deck seam intact. 4200 sags and drools and gets all over the place, so have some clean-up stuff handy (acetone for instance).
I added new shorter screws set into the (then) epoxy filled holes. There only function was to hold the rail in place till the 4200 set up and then add a little mechanical insurance to 3M’s chemical promise that the rail will stay in place. I did this job in the summer of the year 2002, and thus far have had no hull/deck seam leaks. I sail in the ocean with the rail much of the time.
By the way, another easy place for water to enter are your jib and Genoa tracks and also your chainplate slots, the latter of which, if they have not been dealt with previously, probably have extensive loss of balsa surrounding the plates. A little 9 or a lot of) epoxy to fill the voids where the balsa “used to be” is a great solution to that problem if the plates are first removed, and the slots / plates adequately caulked thereafter. Have new plates made while you are at it. As much as I sail with the rail down, and as much as it rains around here, I believe that chainplate cover plates are a must for leak proofing. When I switched from bronze to stainless steel chainplates in the summer of 2004. Go ahead, I dare you: Try to find someone who wil make you some bronze plates. I had some cover plates made up at the same time by the shop that made my chainplates.
And by-the-by-the-way, a chainplate leak on the port side in the cabinet above the dresser will run down into the trough behind the drawers and through a limber hole and aftward along that same trough under the port settee cushion, and that might make you think you have a leak somewhere else, like the hull/deck seam above the settee, but if the shelf above that settee is dry, as mine was, you probably don’t. Your chainplate slot is just leaking. This happens with the rail down, or in a prolonged rain. I fixed that problem as described above, and since last summer there are no leaks there either. The boat has been perfectly dry rain or shine this winter. Color me happy!
Scott
As the battle rages on, today I worked on the hull to deck joint again.It is hopeless. I can not stop myself... I must seek help.
It was tough, looking up at my new sails and a beautiful day calling be out to the river. I have shifted my strategy slightly, and now am filling the screw holes and the seam with thickened epoxy (I see the light Ebb, I can not imagine how much fairing compound it would take to get that right).
I am back to the hull to deck joint since I am moving the Genoa tracks to the toe rail and need to have it painted before I mount them.
I plan to remount it it is going to be tough to screw back into what will now be a watertight joint though.Are you going to refasten the stainless rubrail or abandon it?
Fairing that pestky seam would take alot of time and alot of compound. But boy oh boy, look at those hulls that have 'em. Namely, Ebb's and Geoff's. They look great! I really wanted to do that to 113 but we have an incredibly annoying deck overhang of a 1/4" or more on the port quarter. So she gets a big fat rubrail over that seem. I'm thinking that will gracefully hide more than a half gallon of microballoons!
Hey, how about some pictures of your seam work?
Remembered the camera today,
THe rain makes things a little tough to make out, but here you go.
First the requested picture;
This is epoxy thickened with 404, pushed into a cleaned out seam....Hey, how about some pictures of your seam work?
Not too exciting
THis gives a longer view.
So far, I have made it across the transom, and 2/3 of the way up the port side.
I will go to the starboard side next, as I am getting ready to mount the new Genoa tracks on the toe rail.
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