a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Thanks for all the replies on trailer tires and boat polish!

OK, here's another question.

Evidently on this Marquis 22foot'r, someone had either added a bow
railing, or did some kind of repairs. I noticed inside the cuddy where
you could see water stains, evidently from leaking though the edge of
the roof cap. Not damaged but stains. On closer investigation, I see
where someone had run screws into the cap and all is solid.

BUT!
Underneath the railing supposts, it's just metal to fiberglass and
nothing in between.
*ugh!* Which I find quite odd. I an thinking there should be some type
of gasket material in between, like plastic, rubber or the sort, to
keep water from leaking in.

i know, these mounts come in all shapes and sizes and finding and giong
to a dealer and saying "Gimme some railing gaskets!" wouldn't go over
very well.

Is there any source on where to go for this kind of stuff, or do you
make you're own?

I can make them, I suppose but I didn't really care to cut up an old
truck mud flap, (well, maybe as a last resort) ?:-)

And I would like to make it look like a neat factory job, instead of
cobbery.


What do you all suggest?

Thanks!

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

wrote:



What do you all suggest?

Thanks!


It's not uncommon to mount the rail directly on the deck without a
rubber gasket beneath.
The important part is to squirt some Sikaflex or other sealer into the
fastener holes to prevent water from wicking into the interior of your
boat, a cored laminate, or etc. (Don't use 5200 to seal the fasteners
unless you are *positive* you will never need to remove them. You can
use 4200, but not 5200).

Even if you jammed some rubber under the rails, you would still have to
deal with a propensity for water to creep down the fasteners. Assuming
that the fasteners have a "head" that protrudes above the stanchion
brackets, a layer of rubber between the bracket and the deck may indeed
keep water from sneaking in under the bracket, but won't prevent
wicking.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

On 16 Nov 2006 16:52:17 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:


wrote:



What do you all suggest?

Thanks!


It's not uncommon to mount the rail directly on the deck without a
rubber gasket beneath.
The important part is to squirt some Sikaflex or other sealer into the
fastener holes to prevent water from wicking into the interior of your
boat, a cored laminate, or etc. (Don't use 5200 to seal the fasteners
unless you are *positive* you will never need to remove them. You can
use 4200, but not 5200).

I've seen it recommended to use oil when driving SS into glass, to
prevent galling. Do you know of a respected FAQ(s) for attaching
fittings to different boat materials?
Thanks.

--Vic

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Chuck, I understand the idea of "wicking" . These Stainless screws are
countersunk into the brackets, and I always thought there was some kind
of gasketing underneath them. Well, I suppose I've seen them both ways.
one reason I was wondering about the gaskets, is that it seems like
this bow railing really doesn't fit right. OH, it looks good but the
stanchion brackes are sort of mounted with the contour off the cap
around the bow, and don't actuall fit flat to the surface of the cap.
Like they just arn't the right ones.

But I never thought of using Sikaflex 4200. Thats a good idea.


Chuck Gould wrote:
wrote:



What do you all suggest?

Thanks!


It's not uncommon to mount the rail directly on the deck without a
rubber gasket beneath.
The important part is to squirt some Sikaflex or other sealer into the
fastener holes to prevent water from wicking into the interior of your
boat, a cored laminate, or etc. (Don't use 5200 to seal the fasteners
unless you are *positive* you will never need to remove them. You can
use 4200, but not 5200).

Even if you jammed some rubber under the rails, you would still have to
deal with a propensity for water to creep down the fasteners. Assuming
that the fasteners have a "head" that protrudes above the stanchion
brackets, a layer of rubber between the bracket and the deck may indeed
keep water from sneaking in under the bracket, but won't prevent
wicking.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Don White wrote:
I use 3M 4200 sealant from a tube on my sailboat. I apply it around all
the screw holes and under fitting edges.

AH!

3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.

I've also been looking at sources for rub rail repair. water could be
leaking behind it, between the hull and the cap. I've been looking
through some archives and reading about the rub rail, This has some
gouges in it, but I've seen like the screw heads are pushing out
against the rubber insert. making a "bump" about every 4 inch's or so.

hmmmm.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Tim wrote:
Don White wrote:

I use 3M 4200 sealant from a tube on my sailboat. I apply it around all
the screw holes and under fitting edges.


AH!

3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.

I've also been looking at sources for rub rail repair. water could be
leaking behind it, between the hull and the cap. I've been looking
through some archives and reading about the rub rail, This has some
gouges in it, but I've seen like the screw heads are pushing out
against the rubber insert. making a "bump" about every 4 inch's or so.

hmmmm.


A number of owners with Sandpiper 565 sailboats have removed the teak
rubrail by drilling out the plugs and then removing the screws. After
re-finishing the wood they re-attach using 3M 4200to seal the screw
holes between the rail & fiberglass hull and along the under edges.
Lastly, they use new teak plugs to hide the recessed screws.
I will probably do this job in the spring.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Tim wrote:


3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.


Sikaflex and 4200 are two different products. But either should work.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Chuck Gould wrote:
Tim wrote:


3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.


Sikaflex and 4200 are two different products. But either should work.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Chuck Gould wrote:
Tim wrote:


3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.


Sikaflex and 4200 are two different products. But either should work.

Both are polysulfide. Polysulfide come in a variety of flavours,
including household bathroom sealer. UV protection is desirable.
Paintability depends. Discoloration is a factor. Abhor silicone!

Terry K

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Galling? I have always presumed that galling must mean as I thought,
bending or deforming screw threads by excessive strain, as I saw once
on a turnbuckle screw which seemed ready to skin itself of thread and
slip out of the bottle screw like an exhausted stallion.

So I looked it up and find nothing on my Pocket Oxford about metal
galling, only insect caused galls or swelling, or emotional upset, or
digestive juice, or rubbed bare spot on horse. I seem to recall mother
used it as in effrontery, or guts. It seems as if insult is included
with galling, so if excessive force is insulting to metal, then the
gall might show as deformity, as with my old backstay adjuster, starved
of oil. (Not my fault!)

Mounting deck stuff must first provide a mechanical base, then seal the
gaps and threads with polysulfide, or white lead, or something that can
be removed and reworked. Best replace deck core local to hole with
epoxy, then bed with something. I used foam O rings which were touted
to seal threads when compressed, but that was 30 years ago on a plywood
boat I sold after a year at a profit. I don't know if it leaked later
on, or not.

If some resilieance in the mount is preferred, rubber mounts would be
in addition to all above. If the resilience is relied upon heavily,
expect to rework the monkey often.

When driving screws into fiberglass, one is better to tap thread in
first. Heavy loads and thin glass call for backers, nuts, washers, etc.
Alternatively, use self tapping screws, or make your own by filing a
tooth or two into the screw end with a triangular file.

Repetitive partial insertion and removal will allow air blast
evacuation (close eyes and blow!) of glass powder in short blind holes
formed by thread cutting which will wad up the process. Might better
use a thread tap if the right size is available, but this works.
Threads wick, so a little wax or other sealer should be used, if a
possible slow drip is unacceptable.

There may be talk of deoxidised water and crevice corrosion, not my
speciality.

While learning how to file the right angle on the teeth, I galled
myself by breaking an ss screw off flush with the surface. If the
screw was galled too, it was justified. I would pump up robertson screw
heads for this operation.

Terry K

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

Tim wrote:
Don White wrote:
I use 3M 4200 sealant from a tube on my sailboat. I apply it around all
the screw holes and under fitting edges.

AH!

3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.

I've also been looking at sources for rub rail repair. water could be
leaking behind it, between the hull and the cap. I've been looking
through some archives and reading about the rub rail, This has some
gouges in it, but I've seen like the screw heads are pushing out
against the rubber insert. making a "bump" about every 4 inch's or so.

hmmmm.

Could be the wood has galled, rubbed away, leaving the screws as they
were?

Terry K

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

wrote:snip
one reason I was wondering about the gaskets, is that it seems like
this bow railing really doesn't fit right. OH, it looks good but the
stanchion brackes are sort of mounted with the contour off the cap
around the bow, and don't actuall fit flat to the surface of the cap.
Like they just arn't the right ones.


Perhaps he could mould a glass filler to provide a mechanical base
strong enough to withstand the descent of the mast, sitting, whatever.
Flexion causes leakes.

I have moulded fillers for mast bases, etc. Use thick bog and saran
wrap to avoid adhesion.

Terry K

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:
Both are polysulfide. Polysulfide come in a variety of flavours,
including household bathroom sealer. UV protection is desirable.
Paintability depends.


Abhor silicone!

Terry K

Agreed!

I've seen some pretty snotty work done. and I want to get away from
that.

a question about bow railing gaskets....
 

I'm taking all this into consideration, Terry. I'm going to be pulling
out a part of the interior where the top meets the hull and do some
investigating. the ull seems solid as a rock. and I've not noticed any
deteriation so far. Of course I've jsut started on this project.


wrote:
Tim wrote:
Don White wrote:
I use 3M 4200 sealant from a tube on my sailboat. I apply it around all
the screw holes and under fitting edges.

AH!

3M again. I really hadent heard of it by the name Chuck used.

I've also been looking at sources for rub rail repair. water could be
leaking behind it, between the hull and the cap. I've been looking
through some archives and reading about the rub rail, This has some
gouges in it, but I've seen like the screw heads are pushing out
against the rubber insert. making a "bump" about every 4 inch's or so.

hmmmm.

Could be the wood has galled, rubbed away, leaving the screws as they
were?

Terry K