rub rail corrosion/pitting
Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:47 pm
Greetings all,
I have a 2yr old 26ft Pacific with a rub rail running the entire length of the boat. The boat is on a mooring 6mts of the year in salt water. I pulled the rub rail back last weekend and noticed there's pitting developing under the rail where salt deposits are trapped between the rail and the gunwale. Pacific also ran a thick piece of tape behind the rub rail which worked well along much of it's length but there are spots where salt has come between the boat and the tape, and hence water/pitting.
so how to proceed??
I've pulled the rail off on both sides. And was considering the following:
-clean up the pits and fill them with epoxy
-paint the entire area behind and just below the rub rail with epoxy so there's no direct metal/rub rail contact
-install non-metallic spacers between the rail and the boat to allow water to pass thru
What do the experts out there think? And what is the best way to clean those pits out before epoxy-ing (this will by DIY, and I live on an island with no access to a sandblaster)
If a coating of epoxy is the go, is West Systems G-Flex epoxy a good one to use in this application??
Thanks in advance to any and all insights-this is the best last great splurge in my life-I really need her to last
Dingo
ps I will try to post pics when my tech savvy wife gets home
I have a 2yr old 26ft Pacific with a rub rail running the entire length of the boat. The boat is on a mooring 6mts of the year in salt water. I pulled the rub rail back last weekend and noticed there's pitting developing under the rail where salt deposits are trapped between the rail and the gunwale. Pacific also ran a thick piece of tape behind the rub rail which worked well along much of it's length but there are spots where salt has come between the boat and the tape, and hence water/pitting.
so how to proceed??
I've pulled the rail off on both sides. And was considering the following:
-clean up the pits and fill them with epoxy
-paint the entire area behind and just below the rub rail with epoxy so there's no direct metal/rub rail contact
-install non-metallic spacers between the rail and the boat to allow water to pass thru
What do the experts out there think? And what is the best way to clean those pits out before epoxy-ing (this will by DIY, and I live on an island with no access to a sandblaster)
If a coating of epoxy is the go, is West Systems G-Flex epoxy a good one to use in this application??
Thanks in advance to any and all insights-this is the best last great splurge in my life-I really need her to last
Dingo
ps I will try to post pics when my tech savvy wife gets home