hull issue on 87 242
 

I picked up my first boat last fall. Its an 87 242 ls 330hp alpha. I love the boat and have been vary happy with it but have found something that needs to be addressed. On the port side in about the middle there is ruffly a 2 - 3ft section where the hull meets the top under the rub rail it seams to have come unbonded. If i push on the side it bows in away from the rub rail about a half an inch or so. It looks like there are screws that go threw the rub rail into it but have been pulled out. I did some research and it looks like the tops were glued on. My question is, how serious of a problem is this and what would be the best way to go about repairing it? Thanks in advance for any and all input it will be much appreciated.

[IMG]http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...-58-07_484.jpg[/IMG]

boat looks great love the 242's

Thanks a bunch. It took a lot of tlc to get it back to that shape but all in all I am amazed at how well it has held up over the passed 24yrs but thats a formula for ya!

I have seen this on a few Sea Rays...but not a Formula.

I had this situation on a 40' Sea Ray EC. I removed the rub rail and put in new stainless screws in new locations offset from the original. Before I tightened the screws down I ran a bead of 3M 5200 in the gap. I then ran the screws down tight and wiped off the excess 5200. After I was satisfied with the result I re-attached the rub rail. Make sure you remove the excess 5200 quickly because once it dries ...you need a stick of dynamite to get it off!!

This made a bond that was stronger than the original for sure.

This is a minor repair that you need to address...it could develop into some stress cracks or spider webs later. That area is especially vulnerable to damage if you bump a piling hard enough while docking.

Do it now while it's not a big deal.

Love your boat...hanging in there for a 25 year old!!:Score-101010:

See thread above

Do what Sprink said but also use some backing plates on the screws that are under the rub rail. This with make it very secure and it will not happen again! I think the screws should be around a 1/4" pan head if I remember right.

After seeing this- I went in the garage to see my new to me 311 sr1 and the bond is gone on about 1/2 of the boat !!! It's an 89 but wonder how long this has been an issue. Guess I have my work cut out for me come spring :(

Same exact boat as mine minus the ugly side hull windows and you have the rounded windshield!! nice boat!

Removing rub rail and securing the upper deck to hull with 5200 is a good start. But when installing the screws thru the upper deck and hull sides use stainless bolts and nuts with backing plates. Then when installing the rub rail I installed 10 foot 1/8 thick strips drilled to match rub rails.
I was amazed on how much difference I felt in rough water. Fewer shakes and rattles and an over-all more solid feel to the boat.

There is talk about using 5200 on the hull/deck bond in this thread. It's not recommended. Look around post 150-ish

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...ml#post3326384

Nort I just went looking and can not find it. Any way you can link it up? I had a number of conversations with the company that makes Plexus as well as a few builders around us and the conclusion that I cam up with was to stick with the 5200 for a couple of reasons. 1 was that the work time with plexus is just way to short for most people to accomplish properly, my guess is even Formula unless they put a whole team of people on it. The second is that humididty levels were critical. 3 I did my windsheild with 5200 and was amazed at what a difference that made to the overall feel of the boat. 4 The plexus and what they used on my 311 failed, the 5200 has not on my 302 but to be fair I only used that boat for 1 season. 5 according to the guys at Plesux the gap that needs to remain after is critical, so you can not overtighten it. I could not figure out a way to do this.

I am guessing that there are many guys out there with this issue. Mine was doing it, yours is and a friend of mine has his doing it. If you have to keep tightening up your rub rail is the first indicator that you have this problem.

Best thing you can do to keep clean up easier is before you loosen the deck bond you want to tape off under the deck joint. Then hand paper so the glue can not get on the hull. That whay once you tighted the screws and all the crap comes out you just peal off the paper and tape and no cleaning is required.

Post 44?

I think this is what you were talking about. It may or may not make a mechanical bong but the crap when dry will NEVER let go. The Plexus has only as I recall a 30 min work time. Assuming 10 min to get the bead all the way around the boat that leaves you with about 15 to 20 min to get a crap load of screws installed. If you had a large team of guys it is probably not a huge issue but for little old me..... :D

What is this about a mechanical bong? :D

LOL I tried to go back and fix that but the site went down :D I knew you would get a kick out of it.

bong, bong, bong, bong,,,,sounds like my head after a evening of tequlia..ing

I had the same issue with my 1989 272. I found a strip of masking tape under the plexus! All the way around the boat; all but 1/8" to 1/4" of the plexus was doing noththing... On the bright side it made cleaning the cavity for the new 3m 4200 a breeze!

The boat feels MUCH more solid on the water now as well.

From the factory my boat had stainless thru bolts (phillips #3 fine thread screws into a 6"x 1"x 1/4" aluminum spreader plate every 18" all the way around.)

The rub rail was missing from my boat and the bond is broken between hull and deck nearly 3/4 around the boat...should be an interesting fix. I was told that using 1/4" stainless bolts with fender washers or backing plates instead of the screws at every other attaching point would help prevent this from happening in the future.

Earlier boats did not use Plexus they used something else. I can't remember what it is now but if you look at the old literature they say what it is. They were very pround of the process. I think they started to use the stuff in 84 or 85? The Plexus did not start tell the Fast Tec line I beleive.

We used Ashland's Pliogrip before we went to the FASTech lineup. I was poking around the interwebs looking for it, and I believe it now under the Valvoline umbrella. Strong stuff, but it was strictly a mechanical bond, and you can't even compare it to Plexus, which is a chemical bond.

Plexus vs 5200
 

Prior to Archer marine doing the first of 5 382 hull deck repairs we did a "shop test". We cut strips of fiberglass from a old hull at the shop 4"x12". We bonded a similar section with a 1" overlap similar to the hull deck seam with 5200 and Plexus. We bonded 2 tests with plex. One we cleaned and sanded the 2nd we bonded dirty. The 5200 seam we cleaned and sanded. After 48 hrs we ripped the joints apart. The 5200 joint came apart with great difficulty, but it did not rip the glass. Both plex joints would not seperate. The glass ripped into the mat layup. This told us the plex penetrated into the mat to bond, The 5200 did not. Plex makes many different working time products. I would tend to go with plex.

I think that the longest work time that they have for a product that they recommend for this job is 30 min.? IMO the best way to run that test would be to put the plexus on, then wait 30 min. or what ever the max time is before you put the parts together and then clamp. 5200 has a VERY LONG dry time. Like weeks for a total cure. I know every time I have tried to pull the stuff apart it tears the glass apart with it. My transom assembies on my 302 are 5200'd on and I am scared of the damage I am going to see when I have to pull them off.

MA 530 ?

http://www.itwplexus.com/products/selector.cfm

That seems correct. The work time is 30 min. I am sure your guy has the ability to toss a TON of labor at it and get it done in that window. For me I could maybe get 4 guys on it or so. I just don't feel like that is enough work time unless you are a pro? Once you miss that window you are kind of screwed. I just checked 3M's tech literature. 5200 goes tack free in 48 hours and does not cure 100% for 5-7 days. So you may have run your test a little early. Archer has obviously done this a number of times so he has the procedure down pat. Hell looks like Formula is having a hard time with it! :D For a DIYer like myself and others that are going to find this for the first time, for me anyhow, I think that the 5200 and allowing it to cure for a week or more is the way to go.

My

My 85 242ls did this also. I ended up replacing the wood screws with longer machine screws, 1/2" x 1" hardwood backing strips finished off with a fender washer and nylock nut. Totally different boat afterwards.

Same story with my 1988 223ss. Home depot sells 4' pieces of alum stock. I cut 6" pieces, and put them in with machine screws and lock nuts wherever I could reach. Formula told me to use 3m 5200, or Sika flex in the joint. Good luck

I did this same project last year by myself on a 357 ssr-1
I removed a section of the rub rail at a time about 16 feet
Clean the old adhesive out ran painters tape under the joint, inserted the 5200, added the fasteners, removed the tape, reinstalled the rub rail and moved to the next section. Took me about a week to do. A much more solid feeling:evilb: