Resealing struts?

[Hopffc2003]

Im in the process of getting her ready for the water. Last year she caught a rope and it bent the strut. It was bent back with a hydralic press and it looks and performs perfectly. I have noticed where the strut base meets the hull there is a caulking around it that looks rough. Falling off some and a lot of voids. This could be more aggrevated from the incident but most likely its just age. does anyone recommend Pulling off cutting and or sanding around the strut. and re sealing it before bottom paint? If so what is recommended for strength and waterproofing. I do not know if its is leaking but Because ive seen it I feel the need to spruce it up. I could go over it with another caulk-sealant to just seems clearing it out and redoing is better?

[Cricket]

How about a photo?
It was bent back into shape while attached to the hull? Did they use heat too?

That's a lot of pressure on everything so I would try to remove and replace caulk as possible.
I'm big on making sure strut bolts are maintained as they can oblong the holes sometimes and need to be reglassed and then drilled etc.
Might want to pull a few to check, especially after all of the extra pushing and pulling.
I hate 5200 for everything except for this type of stuff.

[Captain Ralph]

Opening up the space between the strut and the hull can be an adventure or turn into a Pandora's Box.

Not only could the original caulk be acting as a sealant, it could also act as an alignment tool or shim.
Removing the mounting bolts also increases the chance for the cutlass bearing to become further out of alignment with any other struts and clutch coupling.

I would inspect the cutlass bearing very carefully after your strut repair, is it wearing perfectly?
Even spacing all around front and rear? This is hard to achieve just by pressing it back into position (IMO).

If it inspects good & tight, clean out the hull / strut base bead, clean and reseal.

If that cutlass bearing has any out of center wear, then have a proper tech re-install it with new fasteners, ensuring a seal you can sleep well with AND a perfect shaft alignment.

[krush]

I had all my struts off last year for 2 reasons. 1) to bore them to standard size for cutlass bearings and 2)they were leaking water around the bolts.

If you just want to re-seal the strut, I suggest that you do NOT take it off the bottom of the boat. Removing the strut risks damaging the alignment chalking compound/resin and you might get yourself in a bunch of trouble.

I'd remove one bolt at a time, clean out the hole and all the old sealant, and use lots of new Boatlife LifeCalk Polysulfide. I do not like 5200 (polyurethane); it is an adhesive, not a good sealant. It drips out too easily while curing, and once it hardens, it doesn't seem to remain flexible enough to provide a seal around the bolts during flexing.