My boat was about 60% broken as far as the length of the rubrail. The other 4 were older and 100% seperated. All the photos were pre repair. I have no photos of the after repair seam. My boat is here at the house. next week I could take some afters from inside the gunnell. It looks like a PB&J sandwich with the jelly squeezing out from between the bread... Oh the overlap is about 1" to 1.5". I think this is plenty of surface area to bond

From the Fountain website,This is posted only as a point of information.Not trying to turn this into a brand battle.


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Additionally, we are one of the few boat builders that takes the time to bond the deck and hull together with fiberglass as part of our six-step bonding process to create a unitized construction that is more durable and less likely to flex and break. Fountain's lamination schedules and techniques have been fine-tuned using the experience we've gained from building both race and pleasure boats for over 20 years.

Never hooked and rolled my formula...nuf said

Thank you, I would like to look up the specification sheet for the specific product used, so it would be nice to know which one it is ?

Dave you may have almost made a beleiver out of me for using the plexus over the 5200. What I am still trying to wrap my hands around is how to you know how much to "squeeze" the rub rail? It sounds like you can not just tighten the bolts down tight? Did you use some sort of spacer, or is there something built into the Plexus to keep you from squeezing otu to much? Do you know how long the work time it is?

I am thinking about writing Formula asking if the is anything we can use to fill possible gaps in the seal.While I do not feel my boat has this problem I still may pull my rubrail and inspect.

different reference sources say anything from .01 to .05. Which means that you would probably have to talk to Plexus themselves to find the exact minimum for the type you are using. I'm sure there is some math to come up with the uncompressed amount that will equal "X" compressed amount. 2 test pieces bolted together will give you a number. Formula and/or Plexus has to have a ratio.

I'm with you on doing this repair. If according to these boats, Formula didn't get it right with the hull/deck apart, I don't know how you get it right with them wedged apart.

Where did you get those number Z5? The Plexus application specification example I showed had 6mm maximum to 1.2mm minumum (basically 1/4" max to a 3/64" minumum).

Ratios.......are you talking about the working time/temp ratio? It talks about temperature, surface prep, estimated working times, product shelf life, clamping and control samples.

Interesting, but depending upon the temperature of the factory, I see Formula having a hard time putting sufficent Plexus on the area (one single bead doesn't seem suffice to me), then lower the deck on the hull, get all the hardware in and clamp it down (but not too much) before the Plexus is beyond the "working time".

We need to know which product is used to be sure we are talking about apples or ?????? Dave......make that call! :)

Ma 425

Tech data sheet: http://www.itwplexus.com/UserFiles/File/tds/6.pdf

According to note 7 it says: For optimal bond gaps 0.03 inch (0.75 mm) is recommended. Below these values, consult with an ITW Plexus representative.