Deck to cabin join sealing

[pcatterall]

Tried this on the classic forum with only one response, I guess that there are still a good number of wooden deck owners left on this forum so I will try my question here.
Just entering a new phase in the (continuous) cycle of finding and fixing leaks.
My decks of my circa 1975 Colvic Atlanta are teak on ply and the cabin/wheelhouse sides are ply. I believe that one source of drips is in the seal betwean the cabin sides and the deck.
The current 'seal' is a wooden beading strip bedded on old sealent.
This has been leaking resulting in debonding of the ply on the cabin sides and (I think) some of the drips getting into the boat.
I propose to remake this seal when we have some good weather.
I am considering just using a sealant bead around this join rather than sealent and wooden beading.
My view is that modern sealants will be up to the job and that the wooden strip is just a complication and more screwholes.
What do the experts think??

 

[pampas]

Had the same problem, overcame it by removing all of the old sytsem. Mixed up a stiff paste of epoxy and fillers, masked off both extreme edges of fillet, applied and have not had a leak so far.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G,day Peter,

I'm not a timber boat fan due to the time and effort required to maintain them, they are a truly a labour of love. and it sounds like the water has done some damage; I think I would be looking at some way of not only stopping the leak, but also restoring the ply to halt further damage.

Perhaps an application of epoxy resin thinned with 40% Metho will not only improve the resistance to water, but also re-bond some of the ply.

The new sealant may need some form of protection, rather than screws though, you could lay a new protective strip directly over the new sealant.

An Alternative applying a new timber strip might be to apply a fillet of epoxy resin and Micro-fibres, this has the advantage that it will bond well and will only require a coat of paint to protect it.

On a recent visit to Hamilton Island, I was speaking the skipper of a very beautiful all timber and miles of varnished topsides 42 footer; he had a problem with dark stains at the join between the deck and cabin sides. His fix was to apply a PVC 10 mm angle with a sealant, it was dark brown so never needed painting / varnishing. I know this sounds a bit odd, but the finish was great.

Hope this helps......

 

[Sheff]

Just to add to previous posts......... you can now get pigment additives for epoxy resins so with a bit of experimentation you should be able to get a reasonable match to where you need to seal.

 

[William_H]

Yes I imagine removing the wooden fillet would be best. The water running down thhe cabin side would go straight in to any gap in the top of the fillet where it would stay to cause rot and to then go into the gap between the deck and cabin side. So epoxy it is. olewill

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks all for the tips. I had thought just a sealant fillet would be ok but the ideas about an epoxy fillet seem to hold water (pun intended) I guess that getting it all dry is important then perhaps a thinned epoxy to add grip then the filler fillet. Colur does not seem to be an issue as I will jut paint the cabin sides down to include the fillet.
The idea of masking the limits of the fillet also appeals.
Thanks again.

 

[Stemar]

AFAIK, epoxy is sensitive to UV light, so will require protection from sun. Mixing a pigment in will help, but it still needs to be protected with paint or UV resistant varnish. Personally, I favour le Tonkinois.

 

[Poignard]

Leaks where the coachroof sides join the deck are a very common problem with the type of boat I have. I had a shaped section of mahogany machined for me by Robbins Timber Company of Bristol and this was fixed into the corner with WEST epoxy. I used woodscrews to hold it in place whilst the epoxy set and then removed the screws and replaced them with wooden dowels disguised with mahogany cross-grain pellets.
I did the job 7 years ago and it has not leaked since. It also greatly strengthens the joint and looks good.
If you are in the Emsworth area anytime between now and April I will be happy to show you what I did.