How to glue rubber to GRP?

Doubt you will get a glue that will stick. Normal attachment is to screw or bolt through the moulding or fit over the top of the gunwhale.
 
A waterproof contact cement is the obvious solution. There are may types produced my Selleys, Locktite etc. Just googel "Contact Cement waterproof"

HowStuffWorks "Home-Repair Materials Basics"
home.howstuffworks.com/home.../home-repair-materials-basics-ga2.htm‎
Contact cement: A rubber-base liquid sold in bottles and cans, contact cement is ... They form very strong, very durable waterproof bonds, with excellent ...
 
If it's a rubbing strake, it might well be some form of synthetic rather than actual rubber.

If so, 'Flex Set' might do the job.. It's a flexible epoxy, white in colour, which has been highly recommended to me for re-fitting flexible and semi-flexible fittings to a tender rather than the usual contact adhesive, which it evidently out-performs by miles. It's made by Marinetex (www.marinetex.com) and available from West Marine (in my case, West Marine Marmaris).

I haven't used the stuff yet, although I have it in stock and it's on the list for reassembling the tender later this month. Would be happy to report back after I've used it. A nearby boat has had impressive results which have stood the test of time.

That said, depending on the precise form of the strake, with a rigid tender I'd be more inclined to screw it on, as Tranona suggests.
 
OR4751 said:
I have recently acquired a GRP tender.
I want to fix a rubber rubbing strake to it to spare the gelcoat of the boat.
What kind of glue do I have to use?
Click to expand...

Don't know if Hypalon glue would work and it is too expensive to buy just to try I imagine.

How about all the other tubes people have been posting about on here as replacements for sikaflex?

I can't find all the threads but one is here:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...n-how-do-you-stop-the-nozzle-bunging-up/page2

and one I bookmarked after someone mentioned it on here was:
http://www.marinemastics.com/marine-flex.html

I have not tried any of them though.
 
Rubber of some kind might leave black (assuming it's black) streaks on your topsides.On my rigid tender I used a light pine from a local German owned yard (could be Fir?) which is very soft and lasts many years in the Algarve sun.It just goes grey but that's it.
 
A couple of non-answers

Pipe insulation is actually pretty good slipped ove the gunwale. Those swimming floatation tubes are even better ( and you can colour match eh?)

Hairy old rope ' can' be used , judiciously with a sewn thread tucked between the strands and drilled thru the GRP. But really hairy rope traps grit

The trick is not to insidiously add weight -rubber is pretty heavy, no?

Then there's the string of wee fenders along each side...

Choices eh?

For actual glue.... I would work with the rubber component ( ask supplier) rather than the GRP bit . Or stitch it with copper wire or cable ties, maybe.
 
On one tender I used food grade clear tubing, as sold by chandlers; drill a hole slightly larger than the bolt head one side, and a smaller hole for the threaded part opposite.

I agree with Tranona ( ! :eek: ) - glue is a non-starter, it needs to be bolted through the gunwales; remember rubbing strakes take a lot of friction and load vertically as the tender moves against the hull / pontoon whatever.

There are some good rubbery plastic type rubbing strakes available on E-Bay, new and in large rolls.
 
Never seen fendering glued on, don't think it will be strong enough. the usual method is to screw it with self tappers and washers, though stitching with line or cable ties works, if a bit scruffy.

Plank
 
A rubbing strip on the outside of a GRP dinghy will get a lot of abuse. It will be used as a hand grip for lifting the dinghy and will also be forced up and down by inevitable rise and fall of the dinghy relative to the mother ship. So whatever you do try to make it a robust attachment. good luck olewill
 
Just a thought - the fendering on the big new offshore lifeboats in the RNLI fleet is a type of foam filled rubber, and I think that this is simply bonded on, with no mechanical fasteners. Does anybody know what particular type of glue they use for this?
 
nimbusgb said:
A d shaped white vinyl extrusion. Drillied through the nose of the D and screwed with countersunk machine screws throught the bulwark.
Click to expand...

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/261416568532?nav=SEARCH

Something like this is quite neat but a bit expensive. I'd be inclined to screw or bolt it on but it might be worth experimenting with CT1. I can't believe how strong that stuff is and it seems to bond to anything
 
It depends on the shape of the fender.
If it has lots of area, and not too tall, it might well glue on OK.
Many inflatables have a glued on fender.
Contact adhesive would probably be worth a try.

I've seen dinghies with foam glued on then covered with fabric. If the foam is deep, the fabric usually has to be held on with screws and cup washers, as the leverage from vertical movement is significant.

I think it depends if we are talking about a low profile rubber strip to take little knocks in a sheltered marina, or something that has to work hard as a proper fender on an exposed mooring.
Something in between?
 
OR4751 said:
I have recently acquired a GRP tender.
I want to fix a rubber rubbing strake to it to spare the gelcoat of the boat.
What kind of glue do I have to use?
Click to expand...

To further clarify my question:

This is what the dinghy looks like - there's a protrusion of about 12mm and about 6mm thick (see arrow)

eafk9z.jpg


And I want to cover it with this: http://www.nufox.com/stock-square-u-channels.php

What glue?

Thanks
 
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