Thanks! The idea of "just glassing the seam" isn't bad, but there would be a ton of work behind it. Having done some fiberglass and gelcoat work and having an appreciation for the work, I think doing it right is beyond the scope of a DIY owner. It would require grinding out gelcoat above and below the whole joint, applying a few layers of fiberglass tape and epoxy, fairing smooth, applying color-matched gelcoat and fairing that smooth. It would be a large job. On top of that, from a design standpoint I don't know how much flex there is in that seam between the pilothouse and the deck. It is internally bonded with fiberglass and epoxy, but it may still move a bit in heavy seas. Possibly enough to cause cracks in a glassed and gelcoated joint. Is that why Back Cove designed it that way? I dunno. I do know the BC 37 was one of the company's oldest models still in production and may have been limited by processes available at the time of design. Long story short, IMO taking the time to do a careful job of recaulking the seam is going to be the most practical path. Others may disagree or want to pursue it, and that's OK. If anyone tackled that project I'd love to see how it went!
Thanks for the follow up video. What was the reason you needed to remove the old caulk? I have some discoloration on the caulk but no leaks. How deep is the original caulk bead and did you have any trouble filling all the way in the seam?
Part 1 covers the why, with symptoms. In short, I had a leak with damage under my front windows with caulk failure more broadly. The space for the caulk is not very deep. Only 1 tube was needed for the entire job, indicating how shallow the seam is. In retrospect, this may be a reason why this particular seam is a common issue on this model: not enough depth for a really solid bead of caulk.
Thanks Brad, good video series.
That looks great Brad. I wonder if you can just glass the seam and never have to deal with it again?
Thanks!
The idea of "just glassing the seam" isn't bad, but there would be a ton of work behind it. Having done some fiberglass and gelcoat work and having an appreciation for the work, I think doing it right is beyond the scope of a DIY owner. It would require grinding out gelcoat above and below the whole joint, applying a few layers of fiberglass tape and epoxy, fairing smooth, applying color-matched gelcoat and fairing that smooth. It would be a large job.
On top of that, from a design standpoint I don't know how much flex there is in that seam between the pilothouse and the deck. It is internally bonded with fiberglass and epoxy, but it may still move a bit in heavy seas. Possibly enough to cause cracks in a glassed and gelcoated joint. Is that why Back Cove designed it that way? I dunno. I do know the BC 37 was one of the company's oldest models still in production and may have been limited by processes available at the time of design.
Long story short, IMO taking the time to do a careful job of recaulking the seam is going to be the most practical path. Others may disagree or want to pursue it, and that's OK. If anyone tackled that project I'd love to see how it went!
Thanks for the follow up video. What was the reason you needed to remove the old caulk? I have some discoloration on the caulk but no leaks. How deep is the original caulk bead and did you have any trouble filling all the way in the seam?
Part 1 covers the why, with symptoms. In short, I had a leak with damage under my front windows with caulk failure more broadly.
The space for the caulk is not very deep. Only 1 tube was needed for the entire job, indicating how shallow the seam is. In retrospect, this may be a reason why this particular seam is a common issue on this model: not enough depth for a really solid bead of caulk.