Re-sealing top cap to hull

[kurl8rocks]

I have a 2000 Stratos 21SS eXtreme. I discovered the top cap has separated from the bottom hull underneath the rub rail. The massive amount of water in the bilge after coming off plane was the indication of something wrong

Took the rub rail off and found some of the screws under the rub rail were also loose, which is why the gaps had appeared. Obviously the seal between top cap and hull is also gone in those spots.

I need to re-seal the top cap to the hull. Question is, should I use a marine epoxy such as Marine Tex or should I use a silicone adhesive? The epoxy would be permanent but also solid. Does there still need to be some flex between the top cap and hull?

I'm not so worried about the permanent part - I figure if I ever have to pull the top cap completely off the hull, I likely have larger problems that would require a completely different set of decisions!

Thanks.

[SRJbb99]

[MIBASS]

Same boat, same year, same problem. I took mine to 2 stratos dealers and they all said the water was coming in from the livewells. Its the rub rail. I tried to fix mine by cutting all the sealant out and refilling the gap. It worked for a while then cracked again. I used a product from Boat life products. It worked right and I believe it was the right stuff to use. Stays flexible.

[kurl8rocks]

Awesome! Thanks - I'll give it a shot.

[MIBASS]

They sell it in tubes for a caulk gun. Just curious to see what products some other guys used. I believe that 3m has some that are good for this application.

[kurl8rocks]

Thanks - I found the product. Question on your boat: I noticed what seems to be a rubber strip about 1/4" wide running along the hull, right below where the cap overlaps. (pic attached) The bottom of the rub rail seems to fit between it an the bottom of the cap. Is this the old sealant or is it an actual piece of rubber that I need to leave in tact? I assume I will put the sealant between the cap and hull and re-tighten the screws. Then I will need to run another bead of it under the rub rail once I reattach it. Thought I would ask since we have the same boat and you have already done the repairs on yours.
IMG_0364.jpg IMG_0365.jpg

[kurl8rocks]

Never mind... I figured it out as I was pulling the rest of the rub rail off, I discovered the black rubber is actually the sealing material. Lots of work for me this weekend. If anyone has tips on pulling the old sealant off without damaging the gelcoat, I'm all ears.

[MIBASS]

Hey same color scheme. (For now, re-gel in future) I used one of those box cutters that you can pull as much out as you want to use. They are the blades you can just snap off when dull. Just make sure all the screws are out, there are some behing the rubrail also. I went slow with a sawing motion. once you get some loose you can pull it and cut at the same time. The rub rail area on my boat on top of the sponsons (sp??) is about 3/4" of gap. If it isn't cracked there don't pull this out, just blend it. I did this and it was a pain in the butt to keep the caulk in that wide of a gap. Also, when you get the major part of it out, use acetone on a rag and it will melt away the thin residue/ oil left behind.

[Coxwain]

I am amazed there isn't more discussion on this.
i have a 1984 ranger 350v
i was having water come trough the fiberglass around the. Motor bolts. I resealeded them and it didn't fix it. Then I spent some more time examining the back rub rail and aluminum angle iron covering the transom and realized there is a fairly massive seam between the two parts of the boat.
i removed the transom cap and there was no seal at all.
The reubrail was redone with silicon and it had failed.

i redid it with a sicaflex291 which seems to have better properties than the 3m 4200.
i had to replace a lot of the screws as they were bent but other than that, it's a little tedious but not impossible.

the real killer for me is that I took it to a bunch of boat guys and they'd all wanted to remove the top and repair the boat for thousands of dollars.

i suggest if you have a 15-20 year old boat that you reveal the top cap and transom seams. This type of fix is less than $100 and will keep your boat dry for another 10-15 years

[BassinB]

I am amazed there isn't more discussion on this.
i have a 1984 ranger 350v
i was having water come trough the fiberglass around the. Motor bolts. I resealeded them and it didn't fix it. Then I spent some more time examining the back rub rail and aluminum angle iron covering the transom and realized there is a fairly massive seam between the two parts of the boat.
i removed the transom cap and there was no seal at all.
The reubrail was redone with silicon and it had failed.

i redid it with a sicaflex291 which seems to have better properties than the 3m 4200.
i had to replace a lot of the screws as they were bent but other than that, it's a little tedious but not impossible.

the real killer for me is that I took it to a bunch of boat guys and they'd all wanted to remove the top and repair the boat for thousands of dollars.

i suggest if you have a 15-20 year old boat that you reveal the top cap and transom seams. This type of fix is less than $100 and will keep your boat dry for another 10-15 years

Did you have to replace the transom after all the water leaking in?

[Coxwain]

I have not replaced the transom.
This is a 1984 boat. So I know it won't last forever
Transom is firm now and expect it to be firm for a while
Ranger stringers have an upsides own U channel of fiberglass encasing them so it's still a very solid boat.