what to use to seal old leaking seams? - Feather Craft Forum

Drew · Veteran Contributor

what to use to seal old leaking seams?

flyinaceman · Deluxe Runabout Contributor

I installed a 12 volt Bilge with a switch under the dash on my Vagabond. Even if yer boat is totally leak free water will still sometimes splash over the transom if yer beached on an island on a busy day. Plus wet people gettin in and out adds to the water on the floors. On my Deluxe Runabout that has rear steering I put in a bilge that takes batteries. Atwood makes it. Its called a Water Buster. Works great. I've used 3M 5200 clear on some seams that were seeping. That seems to work good. I'd suggest checking for loose rivets thruout the boat also. That I've found is usually where the water is coming from. Ken

Charles Chance · Voyager Contributor

Last year I removed and refininshed my transom boards. It was bedded in some aluminum looking stuff. Looked like the same stuff they used to caulk the seams. I bought this

#2875612505

OSI, GS-125 Gutter Sealer, Aluminum

$2.79

from ABC Supply, www.abccatalog.com. I used it, but I haven't yet drawn a conclusion, however, it appears to be exactly like the original. So far, so good.

So far, my leaks have been on the order of a couple of teacups per day so sinking hasn't been a problem. (fingers crossed)

-- Edited by Charles Chance at 19:02, 2007-09-05

-- Edited by Charles Chance at 19:03, 2007-09-05

rscoy1 · Meteor Contributor

The float plane guys use a special sealant with their floats. I can't remember the name right now. They can't afford to sink so the stuff must be good and takes a beating. When I had my transom repair done on my 52 Vagabond, we discovered there was a very thin piece of veneer wood sandwiched in the the seam. I can only speculate that this was to swell with water and help seal that seam. In my boats, I have installed a small 12v bilge pump from Walmart..It is only $10 or so and works great. It can be hidden back near the transom and turned on as needed.

Drew · Veteran Contributor

Ok., So use what ever works. in regards to the bilge pump, should i mount it in the front or in the back. I have notice after a couple hours of runing the boat the water runs foward and collects under the frony floor boards. when i am running full speed of course this is all in the back. it also looks like that as long as i am going fast it doesn,t seam to leak so bad. so back to the original question. up front or in the back?

bob hensley · Regular Contributor

I am in the marine indust.here is what a pro would do. for your seams use 5200 its the best caulk on the maret and designed for underwater use. It is available at any marine store about $7 as for the bilge pump when your boat is at the dock put the pump at the lowest part of the hull. put in a auto switch and a manual override. this is the best way to solve your problem. of course bigger boats have two pumps. one forward and one aft. good luck

flyinaceman · Deluxe Runabout Contributor

Put the bilge in whatever corner that will have more weight in it at the rear of the boat.

54Topper · Regular Contributor

on my boat I removed all the old calk and then I put a small amount of PC-7 epoxy. You can get this stuff in ace hardware and it will repair anything . It will even bond with glass and poly gass tanks I used it on my other aluminum boat and its held for over 10 years wink

. Then I coated the seams with Gluvit and the rest I used on the wood. Gluvit is a clear gloss brushable epoxy that will flex with the hull and seap into the seams . You can get it from a marine supply store for around $45 a quart. Expensive but it is worth it. I put a drain on the back of my boat so if I get alot of water I'll just run it out., plus I put new styrofoam under all the seats.

phineas_fogg · Veteran Contributor

hi , i have a 59 ski-bo it seems to have some sort of caulk at the seams, when i replaced the transom it had something on it as well , i must be lucky to have mine sitting on a trailer for 25 or so yrs while the wood was rotted off, the hull managed to stay intact even with a large tree limb glancing off of it. After i cleaned it all out i put a 9.9 on it and went on the water, i could not find a single wet spot( the top side leaks with all the unnessecary holes drilled in the deck). Mine has a threaded plug at the back , i found a brass one that fits off of an international truck. I have since put a floor in and seats etc , it is a very stable boat , great for fishing.