Rubrail & Cap/Liner

[plusone876]

I decided that it is finally time to remove the rubrail and tackle the cap/hull issues that I have been seeing. Upon removal of the rubrail, it appears that the cap is in worse shape that I could have imagined. My original plan was just to drill out the rivets, seal the hull and cap together with 5200, screw the cap to the hull with SS sheet metal screws, and then replace the rub rail and seal it with silicone or 4200. Now it appears that I should fill all of the holes and damaged areas with thickened fiberglass, marine tex, or some other product (or fiberglass the cap and hull together), seal the cap and hull back together, rescrew, etc. I have a number of questions but I don't know where to begin. What are the steps, materials, procedures, etc. that some of the professionals on here would take/use?

I am new to boat repairs but am extremely handy and am at least good with working with fiberglass on surfboards.

[FLexpat]

Hmmm - it is hard for me to tell if that is limited to gelcoat damage or really into the fiberglass substrate. If just gelcoat - ignore it. If it is into the substrate I would:

• Grind the gelcoat off all the way around
• Fair the sharp 'steps' with vinyl ester fairing compound
• Using VE resin (or epoxy if you are painting afterward) put 3-4 layers of 1" wide 9oz tape all the way around. Each layer should be about 0.01" thick.
• Fair it again.
• Gelcoat if VE or paint if epoxy.

Don't buy materials yet - Someone else may have a better idea...

[plusone876]

Any of the classicseacraft.com pros have any suggestions?

[Old'sCool]

No "pro" here and nowhere near it but I elected to through bolt and 5200 mine. There is a build on here on a 23' where the joint was glassed. Best I've ever seen and show quality.

[plusone876]

The area in the photos above is the only part of the cap/hull joint that is damaged this badly. The main difficulty is going to be accessing the hull just under the cap in order to fix it. This area has several holes in both the cap and hull where attempts have been made to fix it. It appears to have been in a docking accident at some point during its life.

[plusone876]

Thinking about filling of of the holes with something and then using Plexus to fuse together. After the plexus is cured, silicone the cracks, silicone the back of the rubrail, replace rub rubrail, and done. I need more suggestions though, anyone? Also what material should I use to fill the old screw holes? Has anyone used plexus to seal the hull cap joint? Either plexus alone, plexus + screws, or fiberglass + screws are my options at this point.

[wattaway2]

Looking at your picture there are two black areas that look like PC.s are missing from the hull in the area behind where the cap attached to the hull? Or is that something else?that rub rail area looks pretty ruff to means I might be tempted to do some glass work there. It might be tough to make a good repair down the road if the silicon gets into the cracks and needs ground out later. Just my thoughts------

[martin]

This looks like my 20 before I redid the cap...I would not use silicon cause it is a bear to clean off to get a good chemical bond with the glass. I would pull cap off recorenwith composite and repair the broke or crcked glass. Grind or blast the underside. After you cut out the core ...you can clamp some Masonite cut down and waxed so it does not stick.. And use it as a semi mold to rebuild up the damaged lip on the cap....
My cap came apart cause of the slings in the boathouse... I now have a cradle...cradles are a must for these.hulls jmho..good luck

[plusone876]

Well I ended up epoxying all of the holes and damaged areas on the lip of the cap and epoxying the hull/cap joint. I then used 5200 along the seem, just in case, and screwed or through bolted (where accessible). Feels solid as a rock now. No flexing anywhere. Can't wait to test her out.