rebeding deck fittings

[grandillusion]

I'm planning on rebeding a good number of my deck fittings this winter, stantions, chain plates, nav lights and bow pulpit mainly and replace some others, gas, and waste fittings, and some cam cleats, is rebeding the toe rail and genoa tracks recomended, I do not have any known leaks, my thinking is to not fix what isn't broked, but would do it to prevent future problems but some I know reccomended rebeding EVERYTHING, wish I had the extra $ to have the deck Imroned, then it would be a no brainer, pull it all, paint it, caulk it and put it all back, maby down the road what should I do for now??

[dave]

GI, your nickname may have more meaning than you realize because I have yet to ever see a sailboat that didn't have some deck leaks, especially an old one [all 7.9's] that have been raced. Look at the headliner fabric in the cabin. If there are gray or black stains running outboard [downhill] from the nuts on the deck fittings, it has leaked in the past and probobly still is leaking. I don't need to remind you of what water does to balsa core. That's why I am still in the process of overdrilling and filling every hole in the deck. I only want to do it once. After the hole is overdrilled and filled, even if the caulk seal breaks the water will just leak to the inside instead of into the balsa core, plus the small resin plug between the deck skins makes a compression fitting of sorts to help keep the balsa from compressing under use.

Dave

[tpf]

If you are rebedding fittings make sure to use a sealant that will hold up. I used 3M 5200 and have not had a leak since. I am sure future service will be a pain but in 5 years the sealant has held up well.