Hello members

I have a Baroness 22 and have discovered a leak between the lid of the keel box and the keel box itself. It has several screws holding the lid in place but I think I need to remove the lid and apply some sealant to the top of the keel box and lid as there is water entering the boat through the obvious gap. There has been sealant used in the past and I reckon it needs to be replaced with new stuff. Now I need to know, if anyone can assist, an appropriate sealant to use given the lid is wood and the box is fibreglass. Thanks in advance.

Mingara (Jim)

Double sided butyl rubber tape?
Will not contaminate the wood like silicon will. It is removable and does not age / go hard.

Sorry I am a bit of a fan of the stuff

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Jim
Castle 650 #96. Mystic.

Silicon. Should seal it but be relatively easily removable.

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Cheers Robin.

Robin & Terry.
RL28 - QE3.

You probably need a gasket.

Clean the surfaces and use some closed cell foam to seal the joins.

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RL24 Mk4 cruiser Mariner 5 2 stroke

A bad day in the Whitsundays is better than a good day at work. Unless you work in the Whitsundays.

Silicon contaminates surfaces and interferes with many things you might want to do in the future.

How big are the gaps? I like Greg's idea of making up a gasket from closed cell foam.

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A man's boat is his Castle. The Gippsland Lakes are my moat. Castle 650 #10, Roller Coaster.

I'm not disagreeing with anything that others have said. My point is it is unlikely you will ever want to do anything else with the lid and the keel case except re-seal it with more silicon if you open it up ever. As such I don't see any problem with silicon in this application.

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Cheers Robin.

Robin & Terry.
RL28 - QE3.

Sorry guys, silicon is for bathrooms and does not belong on a boat, especially the acidic silicon.
Some clever one used it on my boat before I owned it and the damage caused to fittings is unbelievable, spent a few bucks more and get the good stuff if you want to use sealant.

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Sonata 8

I was going to say, just source rubber for a gasket... Or sika if you want to glue it.

Nothing wrong with silicone with sealed surfaces of timber and glass though?

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

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Borrman 38.

Sikaflex is wonderful stuff; it's everything silicone promises to be and isn't, without the drama.

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A man's boat is his Castle. The Gippsland Lakes are my moat. Castle 650 #10, Roller Coaster.

Until you want access and then it's a bustard.
And yes, you can keep it in a fridge, but it should come in 4 packs of smaller tubes!

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

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Borrman 38.

Don't use sikaflex if you ever want to get the lid off in one piece.
Once you use silicon you won't be able to do much else with it except use more silicon without thorough cleaning. But then you wouldn't necessarily need to.

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Cheers Robin.

Robin & Terry.
RL28 - QE3.

It does come in smaller tubes, but unfortunately one small tube costs almost as much as a big one ( I keep a small tube on the boat for those times when I can't find the butyl tape and nobody is watching)

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noelex 25 green velvet

Last time I looked the big tube was cheaper than the small one (unless it was a special at the time), problem is once opened it has a limited life span.
The big tube needs a calking gun, the small tube has a metal twister to get the contents out, only problem is the contents are so viscous that you need Arnie to help you squeeze it out (he is in Melbourne at the moment so it could probably be arranged).

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Cole 23 Saltire-Yamaha 9.9-]Nissan Navara 2.5 CRTD Hyundai 120 and Tucson
Skipper Iain-Sanctimonious Pedant
Bosun Rosemary-Who cares
Bilge Rat Soc (dog)Where's my feed bowl
Stowaways-Sarah & Kate
Warneet Motor Yacht Club-Ultimate Association-SICYC

Arnie and abbott were staying at the park hyatt yesterday, abbott got out of his cab shirtless....what sort of moron bares his chest when there is a cardiology conference going on?
( just before the lecture discussing cutting chests open to replace heart valves vs stabbing people in the groin !!!!)

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noelex 25 green velvet

Abbot like many of our nations finest has no heart, brain or spine.....

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Cole 23 Saltire-Yamaha 9.9-]Nissan Navara 2.5 CRTD Hyundai 120 and Tucson
Skipper Iain-Sanctimonious Pedant
Bosun Rosemary-Who cares
Bilge Rat Soc (dog)Where's my feed bowl
Stowaways-Sarah & Kate
Warneet Motor Yacht Club-Ultimate Association-SICYC

yes me too.....been repairing caravans for 30 years and find the rubber tape fantastic if you squeeze two bits together. I use it for doors and windows too but I find it harder and harder to get ...

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Reiner & Sam
Scruffie 16 (Scruffie Marine)
Sanibel 18 (International Marine)
Secret 20 (Scruffie Marine)

I bought a 30' roll of the stuff from an eBay seller about ten years ago. Despite using it in every deck fitting bedding job on two boats it seems I've got around 25' left. The stuff lasts forever. Grab a roll now in anticipation of your next job.

Well thanks everyone for their input of useful hints and help. I have removed the lid and it has a rubber gasket so I may not need the butyl tape. I think I might try the non acid silicon as I have had to remove the lid to replace the keel cable and no doubt would need to remove it in the future. Thanks again for your interest.

Mingara

I had a lid that had been glued/sealed/botched to the keel box. It was a horrid mess. When I finally got it off, I thought "how many more times will I need to get this off". The answer is "more than you'd think". So I cleaned out the old sealants/woodfiller/garbage and cut a sealed cell neoprene strip to width and glued it to the top of the box with a Sikaflex bead to form a gasket.

it now works well, keeps out the water, and I've taken it off many times more than I thought I would.

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Austral 20 Mark 2 "Yakumin", Sail Number 108
http://theboattinkerer.blogspot.com.au/

So many references to Sikaflex...........but which one? There are so many.

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SC23/Northwind 7 "Isabella Jane"
and a canoe

sikaflex 291

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Cole 23 Saltire-Yamaha 9.9-]Nissan Navara 2.5 CRTD Hyundai 120 and Tucson
Skipper Iain-Sanctimonious Pedant
Bosun Rosemary-Who cares
Bilge Rat Soc (dog)Where's my feed bowl
Stowaways-Sarah & Kate
Warneet Motor Yacht Club-Ultimate Association-SICYC

Ive used those polyurethane sealants with good success. Better then silicon, and not as strong as sikaflex.
Actually glued a toilet pan onto a tiled floor recently. And one other about 5 years ago. Still going strong.
Fuller or Bostik make them. In the sealant isle at Bumblings.

I got my roll of butyl tape from these guys. Came in a light grey colour, not black.
https://www.evobuild.com.au/evo-product ... utyl-tape/

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Ross780 Mk3
#178

Remember if you open Sikaflex 291 and do not use the entire tube, stick it in the fridge when done - put first a screw in the nozzle and wrap the lot in a plastic bag . . . you might get 12 months storage.

I still prefer butyl tape though - one roll will last a lifetime.

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Jim
Castle 650 #96. Mystic.

Many's the time I have cut open a "gone off" caulking tube and used the gooey contents with a spatula. Not always the most convenient but it generally works for me. Don't always have access to the Admiral's fridge.

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SC23/Northwind 7 "Isabella Jane"
and a canoe