Sealing Boat Perimeter

[Captain PartyMarty]

Hey Guy's

Last year when I was putting my boat away for the winter I noticed that the sealant bead under my bump rail which seals the two halfs of my Trophy was cracked and brittle.I want to replace it this year as I think this might be why I often get water driping down the sides of my cabin. My plan was to replace it with Sikaflex 291. Do any of you have some advice for getting the old stuff off?

Capt

 

[bigbruce]

Elbow grease, Capt. I've had success with a piece of acrylic plastic with a sharp edge to scrape away the old stuff without damaging the fibreglass.

 

[Rockfish]

You could look into solvents. I would check with Industrial Plastics for advice on possible safe ones (they have outlets in Van and Vic that I know of) as it could damage the gel coat. I have seen it damage bathtubs taking off those stick on no slip flowers - sometimes not right away but it can surface crack later. In my old bathtubs case I mistakenly used a lot of Acetone Solvent which is a strong solvent, too strong for my application and I left the bottom of the tub soaking in it. It took off the plastic flowers and their very strong adhesive like nothing. Thought I was pretty smart until the tub starting getting small surface cracks a couple of months or so later.

If you are brave enough to try the solvent route you could test a lot of it on a small patch of glass some where inside and out of the way first and leave it for a couple of months or so and also a little on the old sealant to see if it works for making it softer and easier to remove.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I think I am going to try the elbow grease approach, and maybe the wifes blow dryer

 

[wolf]

heat gun will help soften it a bit but dont go crazy just a bit of heat try in a spot you cant see first

 

[Dave S]

automotive eraser. Attaches to drill and works well for this and removing sticker residue etc. First cut out what you can with sharp blade, then got to the wheel. You can saturate silicone first with silicone remover to aid in removal.

 

[scotty]

Any luck party Marty I have the same problem, just thought I could seal right over the old, I guess not!

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I didn't start this weekend too much rain. Going to try again on the weekend. I wouldn't just seal over the old, you will be doing it again in a few months.

 

[beemer]

The inside drips might require more than sikaflex. Most bayliners are built in two parts and the "join" is under the rubrail . The rivets that join these two sections together get loose after about ten years of pounding. If you don't want to remove the rubrail and re rivet , I would suggest that you seal both the topside AND the bottomside of the rubrail. You may want to take the opportunity of having the rubrail free of sealant to take a peak under the rail to see what condition the rivets are in.

beemer

 

[bones]

The inside drips might require more than sikaflex. Most bayliners are built in two parts and the "join" is under the rubrail . The rivets that join these two sections together get loose after about ten years of pounding. If you don't want to remove the rubrail and re rivet , I would suggest that you seal both the topside AND the bottomside of the rubrail. You may want to take the opportunity of having the rubrail free of sealant to take a peak under the rail to see what condition the rivets are in.

beemer

now i know where that damm water is coming from.... drip drip

thanks

 

[dance a jig]

After you take it out, I would use 3M 5200 for permanent fix, as I assume you do not want to remove again. you can make a nice clean job with a acetone and rag. good luck. DAJ

 

[black dog]

I used a razor blade to remove the majority of the dried sealant then used a clean dry rag with lots of pressure to remove the rest. No easier/quicker method IMHO. Make sure you tape off rub rail and gelcoat before you re-apply for a nice professional finish. Water intrusion from the rub rail rusts the bolts which connect your hull to your deck - very important.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I completed this job last weekend, thanks every one for the advice it turned out pretty good and now more water on the cabin walls! My approach was to cut most of the old slicone out with a small 10mm box cutter the blade is nice and flexable and lets you cut out 90% of the old stuff. I then used a plastic scraper to remove the rest. Taped it all off and applied the new sealant. It's a terrible job and I hated every minute of it but now it looks great and hopefully I will have an aluminum boat before I need to this again

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I just did the same job on my 16 ft KNC, Another tip for next time or on your next boat would be to use some acetone on a rag to clean the fibreglass on the top n bottom of the rub-rail.. it helps to make the sikaflex stick good the first time.. just used two full tubes on my POS boat, its much better not seeing the drips on the inside