On Mon, 24 May 2004 07:11:37 -0400, "Charles T. Low"
wrote:
(You wouldn't think rub rail bolt holes could leak very much, but I have
seen water streaming down the inside of the hull, in a few visible spots,
during a heavy rain in a heavy wind. And then, on other seemingly similar
occasions: nothing!)

I unscrewed one of the windows but couldn't then easily pry it off, and
didn't know how hard was safe to pull, so I recaulked the holes and put the
screws back in. (Not bolts for the windows.) The weatherstripping is a bit
ratty on the inside corners of the frames (outside corners of the glass),
and I'm thinking of attempting a "caulk" the windows rather than a
re-bedding.

Any suggestions for improving this plan of management?

==============================================

Here are a couple of tips that have worked for me when sealing deck
bolts:

1. Lightly countersink the top of the bolt holes. This space will
then become filled with bedding compound during the initial
reassembly. Several days later when you torque down on the bolt in
earnest, the bedding compound will become compressed into the
countersunk area creating an O-Ring type seal around the threads.
This assumes #2:

2. Prevent the bolt from turning when you torque it down. This is
easier said than done if the nut is inaccessible of course. When the
threads turn they tend to pull the bedding compound loose.

Certain bedding compounds clean up with white vinegar, others respond
nicely to WD-40 (mineral spirits). My technique is to mask off the
surrounding areas, lightly reassemble everything, cleanup the initial
squeeze out with vinegar or WD40, remove masking tape, wait several
days, torque down on fittings, wait for secondary squeeze out to
harden (several more days), remove with razor blade or utility knife.