Re-bedding deck drains General Forum Forums

If you really want to do it right, use both butyl and 4000UV. Use the butyl along the inside part of the drain, right at the bend between the flange and the drain pipe. That will make a good seal right at the hole in the deck. Use 4000UV along the outside of the flange and to fill the over sized hole where the flange sits (if you fill this with goop, it won't fill with crud, plus the 4000UV has some adhesive properties like Scott mentioned). 4000UV cleans up well with acetone if you clean it off places you don't want it before it get's tacky, which is typically 10-15 minutes. If I had to pick just one, I'd use the 4kUV.

You NEVER want to use 5200 in this type of applications. If you go through your boating life thinking of 5200 as semi-flexible superglue, then you will be happy, because that is basically what it is. It is a very strong adhesive. There are some uses for a very strong, semi-flexible, water proof adhesive. But those uses are few and far between. I've done an extensive refit on Argyle and I have maybe used one or two a small tubes of 5200.

There are several different sealants out there, but for me it goes like this: Polysulfide (Lifecaulk) for below the water line through hulls, 4200 for most inside caulking/sealing, marine grade silicone for any sealing around items that get very hot (engine) AND what you are sealing is some sort of bolted together flange, butyl for deck hardware that get's bolted through, and 4000UV for topside caulking and any deck hardware that isn't bolted through.

By the way, you might also want to check the short hose that runs from the drain scupper to the overboard drain. Mine were made of a corrugated type of plastic and was hard and easily cracked and was leaking. Replaced it with smooth bore plumbing hose. Never liked the idea of ribbed hose for that application..

-Argyle

4kUV is 3M 4000UV Polyether based sealant. It's right next to the 5200 at just about any place that sells 5200. The UV in 4000 UV is because it has additives that keep it white (if you buy the white stuff, comes in white and black) and flexible for a long time when exposed to the sun. I use more of this stuff than anything else and it's not close.

The reason I don't like the ribbed hose is that the ribs on the inside catch crud and the water never drains out of them. It seems like if you were trying to engineer a way to come up with the most clog prone, worst possible solution for a horizontal drain, this is what you would come up with. On the other hand, it was probably what the guys had laying around the yard when they needed some non-critical hose.

Good point about the condensation. Never thought about that because I don't spend winter on the boat. I wonder if you could zip-tie some of that stuff you see on chiller pipes in buildings?