glassing in the hull/deck joint

[lroy747]

Hello!

We are having water collect around engine compartment and after removing the toerail realized the hull/deck joint is the source of major leakage.

I've searched this forum and learned the joining compound can fail over time. I gathered the advice was to rake out as much of the old compound as possible and insert new compound as much as possible.

Still, a couple questions I hope you can help me with.

On this boat (2004 38foot), the toerail is screwed in.  I've been advised to replace the screws with through bolts, which I think is a good idea. It involves removing a lot of the inside cabinets to put back bolts on though. Has anyone done this?

In addition, has anyone additionally fiberglassed / glassed the hull/deck joint for additional strength?

I'm thinking  5200 in the hull/deck joint and 4200 for rebedding toe rails. Does this sound right?

Thanks in advance!

[Markus]

I do not really see much added value in doing the through-bolting. With bolts I think the likelihood of leaks could be even higher as there needs to be a hole for each bolt which needs to be sealed where as screws have naturally much tighter fit.

It is also very clear that the current construction method, utilized by the vast majority of boats being built during the 21st century, is plenty strong.

If you have already removed the toe rail, I would just make sure everything is dry, rake out some sealant from hull to deck joint, clean and put in more sealant from each screw hole and to the joint.

[Rampage]

Provided the screws holding the toe rail in place are still biting as they should, then I see little point in replacing them with nuts and bolts. Don’t forget to bed the toe rail onto sealant as well as putting new sealant into the screw holes before putting them in. Also check the fittings of the stanchions and seal them properly: that’s where I’ve had most leakage problems, not from the toe rail itself.

[Yngmar]

On our 40 Ocean, the d/h caulking was very poorly applied by Bavaria, with a lot of gaps and therefore leaks. I've raked it out over the last two winters and replaced it with MS polymer caulking. Some of the old wasn't adhering anymore either (if it ever did) and you could just pull out long strips of it. It took quite a lot of the stuff, but now the area is completely waterproof.

On the 40 Ocean with the teak caprail and (stainless clad) teak rubrail, it was sufficient to take off only the rubrail, which exposes the d/h joint underneath. This was not too difficult apart from a few stubborn screws.

The screws and through-bolting on the joint (from stanchions, cleats, etc.) is plenty strong to do the job, so I feel no need to add more bolts or glass the joint, both of which would be near impossible to do all around the boat as you can't access all the inside space needed without really destroying most of the interior.

The teak caprail just sits on the fibreglass and even if there are some gaps underneath it, they don't matter as that water cannot find its way inside - unless you have some leaky screws. None of the d/h joint screws were leaking on our boat, but all of the stanchion bolts and most of the mooring cleat bolts did leak and needed rebedding. This would be the first area to check if you haven't yet.

[Jam]

I have done the hull/deck sealing on ocean 38 last year. It was leaking at numerous areas on both sides of boat and was a good fix. Preparation was key and spent a long time removing old sealant where I could and cleaning the rail and gap thoroughly before applying sealant to both.  Think you have aluminium rail so may be easier to access the screws as mine were buried in teak and difficult to remove.  Managed eventually and boat now dry but it took me a while.
I think glassing the joint would messy and difficult to do without destroying the boat inside.  On a construction point this is the best method I think when building, glassed hull deck joint. I have owned a westerly who used this method with bolts, no leaks ever in H/D joint and solid construction.
I also had stansion leaks on my Bavaria which was an easier fix as all the rear cupboards had a removable panel which gives relatively good access to bolts. The sealants now are much better than years ago so I would go down the sealing route. I used CT1 which was easy to apply and cleans easily before it sets.  Have a tub of cleaning wipes to hand is a good idea and I now don’t do any sealant jobs without buying em!!!. Good luck!

[Rampage]

Just remember that by using a sealant between the hull and deck, it allows a degree of movement between the two components. Glassing the gap will remove this flexibility and it will probably crack in short order. I did once try doing this with a sailing dinghy many years ago: I then had to spend even more time removing the grp and replacing it with flexible sealant.