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Rebedding Rub Rail 89' E 38-200

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
I think I have sourced my leak to be a section of rubrail and not the genoa track as I had feared. My question is how hard is it to remove and rebed a section? It looks to me like it is all one big piece and that I would need to carefully pry out the rubber/vinyl partion to reveal screws attaching the aluminum portion to the hull. Is there an easy way to remove a section and rebed or am I looking at rebedding the whole starboard side. I have noticed two very small rust stains coming from behind the a 3-4 foot section and not the whole bloody thing. Other issue is that it being still winter my guess is that the rubber portion will not be too flexible or easy to remove. Any advice here?
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
Okay so I'm now posting replies to my own posts. Does this suggest anything bordering mental problems? I removed the rubrail today. Much easier than I thought it would be. Just pulled out the rubber insert and removed a bunch of self tapping screws. Underneath I can see the outside of the hull to deck joint and I noticed several voids. It appears to be an outward facing flange joint. Looks like caulk was applied into the outside of the joint and has since deteriorated. I will let it all dry out, scrape out all of the old caulk and probably inject epoxy with adhesive filler to fill the voids. Then reinstall the rubrail sealing the screws with polysulfide. A lot of the joint is already sealed with epoxy but several areas are not either done this way when built or later when the rubrail was put on. Anyone have any thoughts on this joint? Im guessing there should be no movement here so epoxy should work well.
 

kevin81

Member II
Rubrail removal

Ted - I also had a leak originating from the rubrail on my 1989 E34. I had a local repair yard do the work. They removed the rail (aluminum and rubber section) and rebedded. They discovered some small open cracks behind the rubrail, probably caused by hitting something or being hit. The rubrail had been removed (by the previous owner) and re-installed. However, the previous owner did not fill in the previous screw holes or the crack. After the repair was made, the leak has stopped.
I do not know what type of joint exists as I was not present during the recent repair. I will contact the repair yard Monday or Tuesday and ask what they did to repair or re-seat the joint.
As soon as I talk to them, I will reply to the post.
Kevin
S/V Serenidad
 

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
If you look at my manual posted on this site you will see a diagram of the joint detail. In a nutshell, after the deck was dropped onto the hull, the two halves were fiberglassed together from the inside.
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
The joint is glassed from the inside but it is still an outward facing flange. The joint on the outside was sealed with resin with a filler. The PO's numerous encounters with pilings has caused the same situation described above. I cleaned the joint out. Removing all the loose bits of filler and old caulk someone had attemped to seal this thing up with. Then I sealed the entire joint with west epoxy and coloidal (SP?) silica (adhesive filler) Next weekend the rubrail will get reinstalled and I will seal the screws with polysulfide. This was not done originally. Though the screws don't penetrate the hull they should still be sealed IMHO. Saving the port side for next year...
 

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
My OEM and the replacement aluminum rubrail (installed last year) are completely filled with sealant. Is your installation the same?
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
Geoff,

Not sure what you mean by completely filled with sealant. The hull/deck joint, which is covered by the rubrail, is sealed together with resin mixed with a bonding filler. At least on my boat this appears to be what it is. Over time and encounters with pilings the joint has been stressed. Some of the filler/bonding material has cracked and come loose allowing water into the joint. While the joint is glassed on the inside the water has made its way in and found various small avenues eventually leading to the bilge. I cleaned this joint out and resealed with epoxy and bonding filler.

The rubrail itself is attached via #10 1 1/4" self tapping flat head screws. These screws should be sealed with polysulfide even though they do not penetrate the hull entirely. It is this part of the job that I need to complete still. Reinstalling the rubrail and sealing the screws.
 
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