found a leak....best way to fix??

[s2gots]

On the back of the boat,(swin platform) where the top half, joins the bottom half, I got a leak. ..I removed the aluminum strip that was screwed in to both halves,(it also houses a rubber strip that goes all the way around the boat) and noticed that on the top half, the aluminum strip was held in place with what looked like double sided tape, and on the bottom half, it looked like felt that was underneith the lip of the top half as it went over the bottom half. I removed all of this old gue and 'felt', cleaned it realy well. To fix, am I supposed to use the same sort of adhesives, and if so, what exactly are they?? On the other hand, can I use 3M 5200 (or equivilat) and forget it??

Sorry about no pics...tried to post pics, but the file size was to big, imnot sure yet on how to make them fit.....

 

[DJ]

Re: found a leak....best way to fix??

5200 or 4200 is your best solution. Apply it to clean surface.

 

[gcboat]

Re: found a leak....best way to fix??

5200 is a really slow curing product and you will never be able to get it apart if ever needed. I'd go with the fast dry 4200. My $.02

 

[jeffnick]

Re: found a leak....best way to fix??

Slow cure has more time to penetrate.

 

[s2gots]

Re: found a leak....best way to fix??

anyone know if theres a better product out there to keep the water out??? I dont see why I would have to take it apart again, unless the top half of the boat needed to come off!!!!!! If 3M is the way to go, I was thinking the 5200 to be placed in between the overlap of the top half and bottom half of the boat....and for added waterproofness, 4200 on the aluminum trim piece??

 

[Joe_the_boatman]

Re: found a leak....best way to fix??

5200 is a really slow curing product and you will never be able to get it apart if ever needed. I'd go with the fast dry 4200. My $.02

I ripped out a bunch of 5200 when refurb'ing my boat. Yes, hard to get out, but not impossible.

I'd use 5200 if you don't ever plan to take it apart again. 4200 for less permanent stuff. If you only want to buy 1 tube, I'd say for for the 5200.

Be aware that over time, once exposed to humidity in the air (from removing the cap) the stuff inside the tube starts to cure. I opened my tube about 4 months ago. Still usable, but definitely more viscous.