I’ve been having problems with two deck plates in my splash well leaking into the bilge. I replaced them last year with new plates, and noticed the gelcoat is damaged underneath, and there’s a couple of “extra” screw holes that must have been from the previous owner’s attempt to fix the problem. The damaged gelcoat creates some large gaps that my silicone really didn’t fill in adequately, because the new plates leak as bad as the old ones. The leaks are not from the joint between the plate and it’s matching white rim, but between the rim and the gelcoat. So, at this point I’m done fooling with it and I need a pro to help me. Any recommendations? Many thanks!
seems that you could remove the ring, clean it with acetone or something to remove anything that won’t let the silicone stick, silicone the extra holes then use a generous amount of silicone and reinstall the ring, put silicone in the recessed screw holes to ensure that water isn’t leaking past the screws
one trick I’ve used is to let it set up a little, becoming more gel-like, then install the ring and don’t tighten it down super tight
Pioneer 197SF
Pioneer 197SF
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Marine-Tex-14-oz-Epoxy-in-White-RM306K/309892537
recommend running screws into the holes you do need, filling screw holes you don’t need with 5200, then (when cured) use Marine Tex as gap filler, sand to level if needed and then seal as you did before. deck plates frequently have to come up for one reason or another, so just expect to be peeling that silicone back every once in a while and replacing it before it can degrade anyway. definitely hit the needed screw holes with your sealant too before you put the plate back on, as BSG said.
I really appreciate y’alls comments. Those sound like good suggestions. These days I’m working so much that I really need to hire somebody to do this job for me. Can someone please give me some recommendations?
Grady White 222 Yamaha F250
See if there is a slightly larger plate avaiable and order it and cut a new hole and elemate the old problemns
Charleston Marine[:I]
or any other boat shop in town should be able to help with that.
www.teamcharlestonmarine.com IF I RESPOND IN ALL CAPS, ITS NOT ON PURPOSE, AND I AM NOT YELLING
I’d fill those unneeded screw holes with Marine Tex and then use 4200 when you reinstall the deck plates. I had a similar issue a few years ago and that is what I did. Worked fine.
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