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Prevention and Maintenance of Deck Leaks
by Tom Neale
Fortunately there are products to help with deck leak control.
While
it’s always theoretically better to remove and reseat
any deck components
with leaks underneath, these products allow a little successful
cheating.
We’ve used Capt Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure for
small cracks around
port lights and windows. We’ve found Liquid Life Calk
to be helpful to
fill in larger voids. In our experience, Life Calk, if squeezed
out from
under the deck hardware that it’s sealing, will be degraded
by UV. But
if you carefully use just enough so that it’s covered
by the deck
hardware and not exposed to the sun, we’ve found it to
work very well.
Silicone products, we’ve found, are less likely to be
degraded by UV when
exposed, but don’t seal as long as Life Calk when used
to seal a piece of
hardware fastened to the deck.
No matter how hard you try to keep on top of things, there
will always
come the time at the beginning of a week long monsoon when
you’ll
discover a new leak. If you know where it is, you may be able
to fix it,
even in the rain. One possibility is---yes, duct tape, if
the leak
source is on a reasonably flat surface. One partner stands
by with a
strip of tape, cut from the roll and ready to go. Keep the
sticky side
dry. The other dries the offending area with a fluffy towel,
bending
over it as he does so, to shield it from more rain. As soon
as it’s dry,
slap on the tape. Quickly press down hard over its entire
surface. This
will probably stem the flood for the duration. Remove the
tape as soon as
the sun comes out so that it won’t leave residue. If
it does, remove it
with a product like Goo Gone.
There’s yet another trick. Because Life Calk (and similar
products) is
designed to bond and set up under water, I’ve been able
to successfully
smear some of this, during rain storms, into an area where
a new leak has
developed. I try to dry the area with a towel as well as possible
first.
This will probably leave a mess, but you can usually clean
that with a
product such as Acetone. (Read and heed all the warnings on
the label
and never store this or similar products below decks or in
unventilated
areas.)
When you make (or discover) a hole through a cored hull, especially
with
balsa, scoop out the coring material between the two layers
of fiberglass
around the hole. The extent of the void you make depends upon
the size
of the hole. It usually should be at least a quarter inch
for small
holes (such as Bimini fasteners) and perhaps up to an inch
or more for
large holes such as those for bolts. Then fill the void with
epoxy or
other suitable material (read product literature at the marine
stores),
let it harden, and re-drill. This not only keeps water from
migrating
into and through your core, it also adds needed strength to
the deck
section through which you’re mounting your component,
and helps prevent
rot or other disintegration.
We only use sealants that are designed to remain flexible
when installing
or reseating an object on deck. Anything that cures to rigidity
will
probably work loose during stress flexing. Most marine sealants
are
designed to remain flexible. When you’re using these,
remember to
tighten down the bolts or screws most of the way when you
do the job, but
not completely. Don’t torque down all the way until AFTER
the sealant
has had a chance to cure. This is usually around 24 hours.
This method
avoids pushing all of the sealant out while it is still wet.
Follow
instructions on the label of the sealant.
To read more about deck leaks, go to the Tom’s Tips section
under “Tom
Neale’s Cruising for You” on www.boatus.com.
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