Hull to deck leaks

A forum for discussing boat or trailer repairs or modifications that you have made or are considering.
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Ixneigh
Admiral
Posts: 2225
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:00 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Key largo Florida

Hull to deck leaks

Post by Ixneigh »

My boat collects water every time I sail her hard or for more than just a day sail. Thinking of glassing the hull and deck joint with a few passes of heavy cloth. I think I would only lap up unto the two inch vertical deck pan edge. Maybe down the hull four inches. I had planned to make some structural improvements but now I just want the leaks to stop. Thoughts?

Ix
beechkingd
Chief Steward
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 3:41 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Central VA 1996 26x

Re: Hull to deck leaks

Post by beechkingd »

I recently pulled the rub rail off due to a number of hull to deck leaks on my X. The seam between the two halves is just caulked from the factory. I had quite a few soft spots from some dock encounters over the years that I blended and did some wet layup repairs to as needed. There was even a 1" hole at the back of the seam from the P/O rub rail replacement botch job. I also found several spots where the screws were never installed from the factory on the right aft corner.

To repair/seal the seam I notched it all the way around the boat with an 1/8" wide 3" cut off wheel on a die grinder about 3/16" deep to get the old caulk out. I filled it with some fiberglass reinforced bondo and sanded it smooth. Then sealed the sanded substraight with a coat of polyester resin and resealed all the screws with marine sealant.

It has to cut down on the leaks, and from the amount of hidden damage I found it was certainly worth it looking at the area.
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