Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

chine wear

hello everybody I would really appreciate some advice. I noticed where some moisture had got into the edge of the inner chine batten where it meets the sapelle sides. I sanded it clean and re-varnished them. I was wondering if there is a marine grade caulking that is water proof and flexible that would be good to run a nice bead on the top side of the chine. Does anybody do this? I was hoping to keep sand and water from getting in behind the chine and prolong the life of my boat. It looks to me that this could be a problem area susceptible to damage if not watched. I'm new to working with wooden boats, so any advice would be much appreciated. thanks Luke Cranney

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Permalink Reply by tungsten on February 11, 2014 at 10:53am

I ve never used it but understand 3M 4200 might work as it has all the good stuff in it and is removable.Bonus is you can get it in mahogany color.

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Permalink Reply by Luke Cranney on February 11, 2014 at 11:20am

thanks I will look into it

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on February 11, 2014 at 2:08pm

Tungsten, I have to disagree on using an adhesive rather than a polysulfide caulking product. Polysulfides materials don't dry in a "hard" fashion they retain their flexibility and still adhere to the surfaces they touch. Boat Life brand 'Life Caulk' caulk is one of the more popular products and it also comes in a mahogany color. It isn't as tenacious as 3M's 4200 or 5200. When assembling or bedding certain parts like inner chine logs a bedding compound is most appropriate. For example when a bow eye is installed in the stem of your boat apply Life Caulk and not only will water stay out you will be able to remove the bow eye if needed. The flexibility will allow the parts to move around a bit without leaks. A little bit in this case a few thousandths of an inch.

Google Boat Life Boat Caulk and you will find plenty of sources. I have bought mine from Jamestown Distributing. Sometimes they have free shipping. Sika also make polysulfide compounds. There have been numerous discussions on woodenboatforum.com over many years on this subject if you want further reference material. In my case I had bedded a chine log and then had to remove it a year later as the other matching chine log and broken when I tried to install it. Upon removal the Life Caulk was still flexible and adhered to both surfaces.

Good luck.

Rick N

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Permalink Reply by Luke Cranney on February 11, 2014 at 2:39pm

Thanks for your time and knowledge on this subject. I really like the sounds of this life caulk. With all the abuse this area takes I hope to lengthen the life span and condition of my boat by keeping parts such as these sound and in good shape.