When I had the deck and bulkhead (The one that is directly below the casting platform) out of the boat I did away with all of that mess becuase I have heard of too many horror stories. I knocked out the old brass fitting, filled the hole with thickened putty, and then glassed inside the box and outside the hull. I do need to neaten up the patch on the outside of the hull, but I am pretty sure it holds water OK.
I am 99% sure that it is my spray rails leaking. I looked them over the other day, and the 4200 I used to seal them up is being pushed UP from water forcing its way between the rail and hull. It was hard to tell until we had pounded through a few big waves last weekend. Now you can grab the rails and move them up and down a little bit. My theory is a PO picked the boat up with a sling and broke the sealant, loosening the screws. Now I need to pull them off completely and reseal.
__________________
Patrick from WAY out on cape cod.
1973 23foot Center console, Birdsall Ttop, Hermco Bracket... in progress
|