In my constant quest to repair ALL leaks I removed the cabin hatch guides, the nylon/plastic shims are sun rotted and need replacing and I have determined that the screw holes are my "last" leaks, trying to get it all off before the SEC championship...GO GATORS !!! sorry had to get that in, anyway does anybody have a suggestion on replacement shims/guides. I wish I had done this when I painted the top side last month, I found the leaks, but I need new shims to put it back together, any ideas or sources? I could not help but see how cold it is in the midwest ouch! I kinda feel bad.
A litttle off topic, But I bought that little 10" Boston Whaler Squall for my grandson to play on in the lagoon, rigged like a Sunfish anybody know much about or sailed them before? I think it makes a great selfbailing dingy as well, but my sailing buddies on other sites think it is too heavy for towing. What do yall think? help old salty out KS
Check Mc Master Carr mcmaster.com and look under uhmw. This will lead to plastics of all types and sizes. They have good descriptions of the different types. Uhmw is very durable, used on conveyor guides etc.
Clair
Check Mc Master Carr mcmaster.com and look under uhmw. This will lead to plastics of all types and sizes. They have good descriptions of the different types. Uhmw is very durable, used on conveyor guides etc.
Clair
I used a nylon adhesive tape that I got from Mcmaster Carr. It was about as thick as the original stuff. I was going to use UHMW but was not sure how well it would stick since it is UHMW and is very slippery.
You should be able to get something for under 20 bucks.
Still cold up here. It got cold up here early this year!
If you moved your co. south you would not have those cold fingers Ron, Oh remember we have no state income tax, and in the Conch Republic we can't remember at all. Did you replace yours? slippery sounds good
Clair, you said tape? you mean the 3M with the foam in the middle, that would be interesting, may help with the waterproofing, wonder about the UV factor. feedback? sounds easy
BEHOLD THE GATOR NATION!!
the Dolphins play some team from someplace called Buffalo at 4 maybe I can fix it early and go sailing...I know Ishould let the 5200 cure but 10-15
eadterlys and a high of 80 is tempting, low of 70 tonight Ron...sorry KS
Sorry, thought Clair used the "Tape" the old shims/guides were floating anyway, right? I will try Mcmaster.com...never heard of it Thanks all
Warm winds and may the tide always pull you home. Larry aka old salty KS
Keys, I will send a congratulatory "chomp" your way , and wish the Gators luck going after that crystal ball - Tebow was incredible in that 4th - but I remind you that my school down in Baton Rouge is the only one with "a pair"
Thank You Much EE, I was happy to beat Saban, he shafted my Dolphins..
my school is UM all about the U baby anyway the kids went to UF, can't
afford UM, daughter in law went to half ass U....aka FSU Thanks
When we got our 79 Chrysler and had our first rain we had leaks in the boat. The P.O. said it was the screws holes in the cabin hatch guides. I tock off the guides and the nylon/plastic shims, and they were broken in a couple of places. All most all the screws holes were striped out. I put down a heave layer of clear silicone under the shims filled the screws holes with silicone then a heave layer on top of the shims and placed the cabin hatch guides back on then filled the screws holes on the guides with silicone one and replaced the #10 stainless steel crews with #12 stainless steel screws. I then tightened down the screws and cleaned up the excess silicone. I have not had any more leaks in that area since then.
Last edited by SN691 on Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Bob, I am sure thats where it coming from, if it were not for screw holes opened when I painted the cabin I would not have noticed the leaks, did you replace the shim/guides? we have alot of wind driven rain during rainy season and we don't sail as much then so I don't catch them all, I am having matching sunbrella made for the companionway to stop those as well. I cleaned them out today will fill with git rot even though I can't find any damage, love your boat by the way and her name. KS
I did not replace the shim/guides. After I screwed the shim/guides down I ran a fine bead of silicone along both sides to ensure no water would get under then and leak.
Last edited by SN691 on Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
my shims are shot, biggest piece maybe 7" I think they were floating at least on Rag Time, if I find the material you think I should bed it with 5200? that would surely stop the leaks, I had lots of mildew under it and did'nt know, about half the screws were loose as well. Thanks KS
This just must be another item like the chainplate, and mast post. EE's were in this same shape, others have posted similar questions. It's not like they carry a lot of stress or flex.
I dunno, maybe 30 years ago this was the state of the art material in use !
Windward leaked along the screw holes, some of which were stripped. I began by overdrilling some -- core was dry, although I cannot fathom how or why -- and filled with plain, then thickened epoxy. Took lots off epoxy to fill the cavities.
The old rails were quite flimsy, and the hatch is huge. I was always concerned that the combination could lead to losing the hatch if a large wave swept the deck. Also noticed that the hatch flanges were quite thin and fragile -- too many years of friction.
I began by reinforcing the flanges with fiberglass tape and epoxy, then smoothing them. I also reinforced the perimeter of the hatch, since there were some spider cracks due to the whole thing flexing.
I glued up some long teak bars and routed (actually successive cuts with a table saw, since I lacked both a router and a dado blade) grooves for the hatch track. An asymmetric U, with the top much, much thicker. This was not a bad idea, but even though I sanded the track well and coated with graphite-thickened epoxy, there's still too much friction once the hatch is about 18" open, and it binds. Wax helped, but didn't cure the problem.
The problem is the curve of the cabin top. Had I been thinking I could have made the blocks taller and run the groove diagonally upward toward the bow, thus reducing the curve.
Since I also wanted some cabin top handrails, I added those to the party. I through bolted from inside the cabin, using large fender washers as backers countersunk into long oak strips to keep the bolt edges from goring passing scalps. Used 4200 between the rails and cabin top, since I wanted strong and waterproof but not permanent.
If I were to do it over I'd still build big beefy tracks, but would bring uhmw or teflon back to the mix.
I did a really good job of bedding them, and am reluctant to remove them now, so will probably hand sand the forward end of groove's top surface to reduce the binding some, then wax it up once again.
Hey Jeff, that description works for me! My 76 hatch does not slide well and I have not even looked at it yet. But now I have a good idea of what I'm getting into! Does not sound bad at all!!
When I removed the my teak, there wasn't even any trace of plastic. Either long rotted, or removed by a PO. The hatch slides ok, a small amount of friction, and binding.
So to make it slide easier, I need a strip of something slippery 1/8" thick, wide enough to go from the mounting holes to the edge of the hatch opening, and just shorter than the teak? And I should get those from Uncle Bob? (kidding) uhmw strips from mcmaster.com
I have a couple of pics finally loaded on puter can Ron or Windward or EE post them for me or post me a link so you can finally see Rag Time?
Thanks KS I am embarrased to say I don't know how
My 22 had a similiar plastic which I replaced also with UHMW... I went all the way across to the rise of the cabin to support the shoulder of the hatch which had been worn very thin...
I am looking for replacement hatches that would be more modern ( tinted plexiglass, sealed in alum frame ) and lighter and higher performance.... curious if anyone did this search yet....for either the cabin or v-berth hatches... I would want it low profile and have it look as if it belonged to the boat design and not "tacked on... I know we have some severe curves to our cabin top...
KS
