Re Caulking/sealing advice

[rwappleton]

We had several screw heads break off on the stbd rub rail near the bow. I was able to get all but three out so I am doing the repair tomorrow. Is there something less messy than resin?

Also going to re-caulk all filler caps on stbd side also. Looks like they have NEVER been done. Is there enough hose and wiggle room to pry/wedge these up, clean off old stuff and apply new? Am I going to have the same issues with broken screws? I can hide my work under the rub rail but not so good around filler caps.

 

[Bob Bradley]

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but if they've never been caulked, you probably have rotted balsa for a 5- 10" radius around them. On my 43, I had to replace the gunwales up both sides and across the stern due to rod holders that were installed without caulk.

My fuel filler hoses go thru a protruding fiberglas compartment under the gunwale. It also houses the electrical inlets. Mine has inspection port on it that would allow me to remove the fuel lines from the fixture on top. If yours are the same, I would open them up, loosen the clamp on the fuel line, and pry out the filler fixture. That would give you a good look at the end grain balsa around it and tell you if it is rotted. If so, the best answer is to cut it out and replace it.

 

[rwappleton]

Bob,

I was not clear enough. Ours is a DC and all fillers are down the stbd side. We do not have any soft decking in that area. We do have a water leak in the Master cabin that is above the port light. We suspect either rub rail,seam between hull and deck or stanchions.

We are re sealing everything as we have not found the source of the leak.

We do have soft aft deck aft of the leak. We are going to address that shortly.

Regards,

Russ Appleton