Removing Deck Hardware / What To Do With the Holes???

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

I wanted to share a method I have used as a temporary and sometimes permanant solution for the holes when deck hardware has been moved or removed.

Our boat has been upgraded to self tailing winches and we had not used the fixed cleats on the cockpit coaming since we bought the boat. The kids were banging heads on them so I figured it was time for them to go..

Here's what I did..

To make this an easy one person job I simply use my cordless impact wrench. This allows the nuts to be removed from one side only using no wrench or screw driver on deck.



Less Than 30 seconds later and notice the absolute lack of rust or moisture. These cleats were still bone dry after 29 years!!!! Why? Butyl tape as a bedding compound!!


Yep still totally flexible and water proof after nearly 30 years! Oh and SUPER EASY TO REMOVE!! These cleats used to see decent loads, before the ST's so it's PROOF you don't need to GLUE mechanically fastened hardware onto your boat!!


For the butyl doubters and pro 5200 crowd I present 29 year old BONE DRY CORE!!


Spider crazing/cracking is caused by not feathering or beveling the edges of the hole drilled through gelcoat.


I countersunk each hole:


Choose a fastener to fill the hole? I prefer what are called Truss Head fasteners as there are less points for potential leakage and the head sits nice and low to the deck. The Truss Head is all the way to the left:


I used gray 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick butyl tape to install the fasteners used to hide the holes:


I wraped & mold the butyl into a cone so it fits down into the countersunk hole and gives a 100% seal:


Tighten everything down with the impact driver:


Where the cleat used to be and can be again. This is a lot easier than trying to match a gelcoat color and then create a non skid pattern that matches:



This project, removing two cleats and filling the holes with Truss Head machine screws, took me about a half hours total time including cleaning up the non skid with a Magic Eraser, paint thinner and some Acetone.

Just another option for a question I see here often..

[artbyjody]

Nice post - where exactly does one get that tape - do hardware stores usually carry it?

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by artbyjody

Nice post - where exactly does one get that tape - do hardware stores usually carry it?

I order it on-line these days. usually RV stores have it. Make sure you get gray colored tape as it makes MUCH less of a mess than black does. The flat stuff is sometimes referred to as butyl ribbon tape..

Make sure you get butyl tape and NOT foam weather stripping... I bought a case of it about ten years ago and it's still going!!

My entire boat was done with butyl tape from the factory and even at 29 years my genoa tracks are still BONE dry! Most builders did not use it because it's more labor intensive and more costly..

[Freesail99]

Jody, I bought mine from a RV place. Halekai will also tell you as he told me, to get the grey colored tape as the black stains.


I see he beat me to it, lol

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

Jody, I bought mine from a RV place. Halekai will also tell you as he told me, to get the grey colored tape as the black stains.


I see he beat me to it, lol

Free,

Meguiars Cleaner Wax will remove the stains and Paint Thinner or Mineral Spirits will soften the butyl to help clean any stains you may have it's still VERY messy though compared to the gray..

Here's a source:
Mobile Home Parts Store

[sanctuarysam]

i see positive rep points in your future
as i am replacing all my original harken camcleats w/ spinloc xas next time up, i will definitely try this.
oh..and the info on impact wrench..(i had a "duh" moment when i realized why it works..just never have had an impact wrench. to do list: buy impact and grey butyl tape.
which brings me to wondering if teflon pipe tape wouldn't work too..aren't they similar in composition? and as it's already white..but sea/salt/etc conditions might make it an unacceptable choice..hmmm anybody know (save my lazy a** from searching dupont's website).
thanks again hal..sendin some rep luvin your way

[Freesail99]

Teffon tape is thin and works good on threads being inserted into something. Butyl tape is thick and sticky like a gasket and will stick and form to shape.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by sanctuarysam

which brings me to wondering if teflon pipe tape wouldn't work too..aren't they similar in composition?

As Free said NO they are not at all similar. Butyl tape is more like a very, very sticky version of Silly Putty that will, even after 29 years, never harden.

[IslanderGuy]

Wow,thanks for the great and detailed post! I need to re-bed a lot of hardware soon,and had not known there was another option other then 5200 or similar. I also like the less mess, and assuming no drying time. This will be very helpful as I am a long way from my boat and would like to be able to re-bed things when I have time without worrying about the mess and drying time.

I do not quite understand why an impact wrench would take the nut off the bolt without twisting the bolt. Is this just due to the friction on the top, where the sealant is holding the head, and that an impact wrench needs less friction to hold the bolt then a regular wrench?

I see an impact wrench in my future whether I understand the concept or not...

Thanks,
Bryan

[sanctuarysam]

Originally Posted by halekai36

As Free said NO they are not at all similar. Butyl tape is more like a very, very sticky version of Silly Putty that will, even after 29 years, never harden.

that is so cool....last time up, i rebedded deck hardware to run aft..acetone and trying to be careful..what a friggin mess that can be. this is such a great idea.
thanks again..