Under the rub rail...

[carterskemp]

Hi all,

Hope all your spring projects are going well.

My big projection on my beloved 1962 Pearson Triton this spring is to paint my topsides. (the area from the water line to the deck. I have always called this the topsides, but then recently I have heard the deck and cabin referred to as the topsides. hmmm...)

Anyway, terminology discussion aside, to start with I pulled the stainless steel half round rub rails off. Underneath is kind of a wonky mess. I know that this is the seam between the hull and deck. Can I just grind and fill away? Will grinding this bumpy mess somehow comprise this joint? Should I grind, fill, and then lay a narrow strip of glass?

I have not decided on rub rail replacement questions yet. Reattach the stainless half round, leave a rub rail off completely, or go hog wild and make a nice new wooden rub rail. I am currently leading toward replacing the half round for now.

Here is the beautifulness I speak of:



(Please ignore the ugly butyl tape under the track. It will get cleaned up soon, I promise...)

I look forward to your deluge of wisdom.

-Carter

[The Froon]

Carter, I think what you may hear from others is to first remove the old bedding material, clean the area, and then assess where and what to do from there. Are you see water penetrating this seam? What is your reasoning for grinding away and filling with glass? Anyway, take it down to solid surface and assess.

Brian

[carterskemp]

actually, it is solid surface! there is a little bit of butyl, but just at the right side of the image which was toward the front of a strip of half round. the rest of the bumpy crud is actually rock hard resin and glass. I want to grind it smooth so as the stainless, or whatever I use as a rubrail, mates on nice and pretty.

c

[CharlieJ]

You are correct- that is the topsides

[triton318]

What I did on my '62 Triton was remove the stainless trim, grind down above and below the seam, and sealed the joint with two layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. The reason I did this was because there were several spots along the hull-deck joint that were leaking. The result isn't real pretty, but looks have always been secondary to me.