Bedding sealant for winch switches

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scorow

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Freedom 307
I am replacing the deck winch switches on my 307. What is the best bedding sealant to use for this?

Back in my sailing days, we used silicone sealants to bed winches, etc. to the deck. Is 4200 the recommended product for this?

Thanks.
 
I wouldn't use 4200 (or 5200). You don't need an adhesive , just a sealant like Life Caulk. Silicon would probably be fine also, Choose a bathroom or Marine type that have mildew blockers.
 
scorow said:
I am replacing the deck winch switches on my 307. What is the best bedding sealant to use for this?

Back in my sailing days, we used silicone sealants to bed winches, etc. to the deck. Is 4200 the recommended product for this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
If you use 5200, you'll won't get them off the deck without a chainsaw, if you use 4200, you won't be able to remove them without a chisel.

Just use bathroom or marine caulk - you need a sealant, not an adhesive.
 
Agree - not 4200/5200.

This would be a good place to use butyl rubber tape. But the Boat Life products are usually my "go to" stuff if I wanted to use a tube sealant - in this case, I'd use Life Seal. But just about any decent product will work for this application.
 
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Just use the grady caulk or any marine use caulk. I like the grady stuff which matches gellcoat.
 
For a switch you don't need an adhesive caulk like 4200/5200. I have been using the 4000 for deck hatches and access ports. It's UV stable too.
 
Since the sealant will most likely be under the switch flange and therefore blocked from the daylight, UV resistance is not a major issue.

This project reminds me of a video I saw recently in which some fittings were bedded in sealant/adhesive and the goal was to not have a lot (or any) squeeze out outside of the fitting flange. It is brilliant and simple so I will attempt to describe.
Temporarily install the fitting ( held in its final position. Sketch its outline with a pencil.
Remove the fitting and apply masking tape so that the tape spans the outline ( not up to the line but covering it)
Reinstall temporarily the fitting over the tape and sketch out the fitting again, this time marking the tape.
Remove the fitting and cut out the inside section of the tape using the line you just marked as a guide. In some cases it may be easier to leave the fitting in place and cut around it.
Remove the masking tape on the inside of the cut line ( the under the fitting area)
Apply your sealant either to the fitting or to the hull and re-install the fitting. The squeeze out will be on the masking tape left around the fitting. Allow some setup time if needed for the sealant to start to firm up and then peel off the masking tape.
You will have a completely bedded fitting with no squeeze out on the surrounding surface.

Boy, a few pictures would have been so much easier to demonstrate this method.. I can't remember where I saw the video:(
 
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