Recaulking flooring

[artwhitting]

Hello;

Thank you for your support and advice.

I have removed the flooring over the gas tanks of my 1990 seafarer. The two floor boards are held by screws and caulk. After some tank fitting maintenance and clean up, I will reinstall.

The question is how to recaulk with the boards removed. Should I:
1. place the flooring in the the slot and only caulk the seam from above?
2.Place a bead of caulk around the edge and place the flooring on top of the bead, then add a bead of caulk from above?

BTW: I was very impressed that the bulk heads and beams show no sigh of rott. The tank were replaced about 6 years ago and are in great shape. I have had the boat for 2.5 years.
I am curios why GW didn't paint the the glass under the floor for better barrier coating, but I'm not a professional boat builder.

on a side note: I have come to appreciate the quality of my boat and her seaworthiness. We don't get very bad weather in Socal, but when I have to travel 70 miles back into the swell and can only do 10 knots, It's good to know she is draining gallons of water with every wave and will get my friends back to their wives safely.

saludos

 

[seasick]

Caulk the seams from above after the floor is installed. Make sure you bed the screws too, that is apply some sealant like 4200 to the threads before screwing in. Mant folks use bathroom silicone sealant in almond as a reasonable match for the gel color. White tends may stand out against the Grady factory color but it is your choice. I have seen black caulk used and the look is interesting but one of personal preference. Make sure you use marine caulk or bathroom caulk. They contain mildicides which will slow down the development of mold or mildew. Use masking tape to create straight lines. That will prevent the excess caulk from bleeding onto the deck. Avoid windy days since anything that blows onto the wet caulk will stick for the first 20 minutes or so depending on the weather. Remove the tape after 15 minutes or so. Good luck with the job.

 

[DennisG01]

That's some excellent advice up there - especially about the windy day!

The only thing I would add is to not use the 4200 around the floor seam (or anywhere it will be visible). 4200 is not UV stabilized and can yellow/breakdown over time. 3M makes a product called 4000UV which would be better suited. The BoatLife products are excellent, too.

And, WHATEVER you do, DON'T use 3M5200. Besides not being UV stabilized, it's main purpose is as an adhesive (4200 is somewhat, as well). The tensile strength of 5200 is actually greater than the bonding strength between the gelcoat and the fiberglass... which means if you ever remove that part... there's a chance of pulling the gelcoat off the fiberglass.

Too bad the caulking doesn't come in "Grady Blue"... that might be a neat look. Sort of like contrasting piping used with leather or vinyl seats.

 

[ocnslr]

Here is a suggestion for after you put the hatch back in place, and screw it down, but before you apply the caulking.

Take a length of the 1/8" braided dacron that is used for outriggers, insert it down into the channel and securely tie the two ends together. The apply the caulking over it.

Next time you need to remove the hatch, just dig down in one spot, get a firm grip on the line, and use it to pull through the caulking all the way around the hatch.

You will still need to remove the caulking from both the hatch and coaming before you can reinstall, but this is so much easier than cutting all the way around with a some type of implement.

Brian

 

[seasick]

Here is a suggestion for after you put the hatch back in place, and screw it down, but before you apply the caulking.

Take a length of the 1/8" braided dacron that is used for outriggers, insert it down into the channel and securely tie the two ends together. The apply the caulking over it.

Next time you need to remove the hatch, just dig down in one spot, get a firm grip on the line, and use it to pull through the caulking all the way around the hatch.

You will still need to remove the caulking from both the hatch and coaming before you can reinstall, but this is so much easier than cutting all the way around with a some type of implement.

Brian

Interesting idea but hopefully he will only have to open that panel once
Regarding 4200: I mentioned to use it on the screw threads and under the screw heads as a bedding agent. I do not recommend it as a caulk.

 

[DennisG01]

Regarding 4200: I mentioned to use it on the screw threads and under the screw heads as a bedding agent. I do not recommend it as a caulk.

Yes, I understood what you meant. I didn't mean to imply that what you said was wrong - sorry if it came across that way. I only meant to add more info so others that might read this knew a little more about it.

 

[seasick]

Regarding 4200: I mentioned to use it on the screw threads and under the screw heads as a bedding agent. I do not recommend it as a caulk.

Yes, I understood what you meant. I didn't mean to imply that what you said was wrong - sorry if it came across that way. I only meant to add more info so others that might read this knew a little more about it.

No need to be sorry I appreciate your info and comments.

 

[noXcuse]

I just resealed my floor this past weekend. Just pulled it up to check everything out before I started hitting the striper hard. I used clear bathroom silicone. I used to work in home improvement, and I have a little secret when it comes to applying silicone or caulk. Most people will hold the caulk gun at a 45° angle and DRAG the tip across the surface. This makes the sealant sit on top and you have to run your finger across it to smooth it out. Plus you don't get it down in the seam good. The secret is to hold it at the same 45° angle, but PUSH it. The sealant pushes into the seam like this, and the tip dragging across where you just sealed makes it perfectly smooth. No need to wipe it with your finger, and no need to lay down masking tape. My old man taught me this when I was a kid, helping him work on houses. Works every time.

 

[artwhitting]

Thanks so much. You guys are great.

Here's another question.

Should I stick with the "pry open hatches" or convert to screw hatches? I have four on the floor. The pry open seem to be easier, but I feel the are not as water tight.

saludos

 

[DennisG01]

In my opinion, I think as long as you keep the sealing surface clean of debris and the o-ring is in good shape, it doesn't really matter.

 

[seasick]

In my opinion, I think as long as you keep the sealing surface clean of debris and the o-ring is in good shape, it doesn't really matter.

I agree but kep in mind that the rubber o-rings do wear out over time. You can get more life out of them by swapping rings or covers from less exposed areas to more expossed ones. For example, I swpped my helm side mounted covers with the motor well ones. You get a few more years out of them that way

 

[The_Chain]

That's some excellent advice up there - especially about the windy day!

The only thing I would add is to not use the 4200 around the floor seam (or anywhere it will be visible). 4200 is not UV stabilized and can yellow/breakdown over time. 3M makes a product called 4000UV which would be better suited. The BoatLife products are excellent, too.

And, WHATEVER you do, DON'T use 3M5200. Besides not being UV stabilized, it's main purpose is as an adhesive (4200 is somewhat, as well). The tensile strength of 5200 is actually greater than the bonding strength between the gelcoat and the fiberglass... which means if you ever remove that part... there's a chance of pulling the gelcoat off the fiberglass.

Too bad the caulking doesn't come in "Grady Blue"... that might be a neat look. Sort of like contrasting piping used with leather or vinyl seats.

This is all good stuff, I have to pull mine this weekend to have one re-cored. So I was wondering about 4200 the "experts" at west marine said yea use it on your deck hatches. Turned yellowish over the summer, now moldy black looking...SOB. Anyhow first I have heard of this 4000UV...good stuff eh? Anyone else using this and had good turnouts? or did I miss the boat and thats what ya'll have been using this whole time?

 

[dstarok]

In my opinion, the screw out plates don't work very well for floors as they have indentions in the top for turning them which are hard to walk on and hold water.

 

[DennisG01]

This is all good stuff, I have to pull mine this weekend to have one re-cored. So I was wondering about 4200 the "experts" at west marine said yea use it on your deck hatches. Turned yellowish over the summer, now moldy black looking...SOB. Anyhow first I have heard of this 4000UV...good stuff eh? Anyone else using this and had good turnouts? or did I miss the boat and thats what ya'll have been using this whole time?

I've been in the marine industry for 25 years and have been a lifelong boater from a boating family. I'm not professing to be an expert - far from it - I've still got lot's to learn and that's one of the reasons I came to this forum. Whether you use the 3M 4000 or the BoatLife products (LifeSeal, in this case) you'll be happy. Another good product is Bostik, but it's not as widely available. For what it's worth, I prefer the BoatLife products. It's a small company, Made in the USA and if you call them - you get to talk to real live person. They only deal with a few select products, as well.

I'm not sure of 3M, but I know that the BoatLife stuff actually cures better in the presence of moisture. Example... I once sealed a small section of my house's chimney. I had a little bit of Life Seal and then some standard sealant from Home Depot. About 2 hours later it rained. I checked on it the next day and the LifeSeal was perfectly cured - the other stuff was completely washed away... absolutely no trace of it.

 

[ROBERTH]

For caulking, I have been using the GE Almond Bathroom caulk and it has done a great job and still looks good everwhere I have used it. Easy to work with as well.

I had just removed my cabin deck cover to change out a Seacock with a Marelon and I used a filet knife to cut the caulk that I had applied last year. It came up without any issue and cleaned up easily enough. Reapplied new caulk and immediately peeled up the masking tape and it came out great. I am sold on this caulk so far.

For floor plates, pry outs are easier, don't have the indentions that will hold lots of dirt/water. Also, I was told to use Vaseline to lube up the orings and they last forever and insert and remove without damage as well as help seal better.
Just remove them, wipe with a cloth and reapply about once a year when removing for inspection.

 

[82seafarer]

Glad I just found this post since I'm about to reinstall and caulk the bilge hatch and new deck plate on my (new to me) 89 Seafarer. Then do the same for the gas tank hatch since whomever recaulked it did a horrible job. I just completely replaced the aluminum transom cap and first caulked the transom with 5200. Then after it dried I bedded the aluminum on top of it with 4200. I like LIFE seal and caulks better but figured the 5200 would be best to keep the transom sealed and glued and matching products with the 4200 after made sense. Didnt know about the UV issues but at least all that will be out of sunlight besides the small bead at the edge. From now on I'll only use 3M caulks on crews and stuff below the waterline and out of sunlight. And the life SEAL on the hatches and deckplates. My 89 is not as almond as the newer ones and after 25 years of sun its even more white.
I like the tip about using a caulk gun forwards. I noticed that when doing the transom cap and figured it was just the way I cut the tip made it work better.
Thanks for the info guys !

 

[suzukidave]

i am just doing this on the centre hatches and replacing deck hatches. i was going to be using the ge silicone 2 almond recommended here as what grady uses, but i am now waiting on a sample to dry because it does not seem to match my older 1994 hull colour. i may have to go to clear silicone 2.

a few comments

-when doing this you may want to consider how much bite is left in your screw holes. a couple of mine were spinning free meaning, at minimum, they were admitting water through the screw hole. i am filling them all with marinetex and redrilling pilot holes.

-when i popped the hatches i found someone had laid down a thin strip of rubber (like a cut up inner tube) on the forward hatch sill. perhaps coincidentally, the forward hatch was completely dry and the seam was intact, whereas the seam on the fuel tank hatch, which seemed to have identical caulk, had failed and there was a layer of fine sand all along the sill ledge. i will be adding inner tube for both hatches.

-i got eight years out of screw on hatches on my 190 with no issues. the tiny amount of water they collect in the indents is offset by the fact i can remove them without damaging the deck plate surface which i find is a problem with uv exposed pry up deck plates. i inspect inside these compartments a couple of times a season.

-for a screw top deck plate opener i have screwed two stainless lag bolts into the top of a boat brush. i invert the brush and the two lag bolt heads open the hatch easily.

 

[Angler Management]

There's an ongoing recent thread about motor well transom Pop hatches giving way in adverse conditions... Some have advised screw in ones outside the cockpit... Sorry I lost the thread but it shouldn't be too hard to find.

Oh, here it is...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21669&start=0