Thanks Pam, the hull to deck joint on the M-23 is a box joint or shoe box joint as shown in Cap's Pauley's site http://www.thevirtualboatyard.com/2011/09/sealing-the-hulldeck-joint.html. I believe that to re-seal it I probably do have to pry it open a bit. I did not get a chance to work on it yesterday as I was part of a crew taking a J30 from Annapolis to Deale MD directly against winds gusting to 38mph. Strange that we did hot seem to have a lot of company out on the bay! Cheers Robbin On 4/7/2013 10:59 AM, pam and dana wrote:
Hi Robbin
I've had trouble writing to the Mboats list--some computer thing, so this is coming to your inbox. Anyway, someone directed me to this invaluable site when I was needing help with the hull/deck joint. The diagram shows the M17 joint and I don't know if yours is the same but the rest of the info is extremely helpful. Also, Howard Audsley is active on the list.
I took the toe rail completely off, cleaned it up, did a little light 400 wet-dry sand paper to the gray areas around the holes and it looked so much better. There was also black area that looked like very old adhesive on the deck sticking out from under the rail. This, too, sanded off easily with 400 wet-dry..
As for the joint itself, I would think you risk breaking deck if you try to "pry" it. On the advice of others, I used a Dremel tool with flat cutting disks to grind out the very slim joint, clean it up, and refill it. Don't forget to wear safety goggles and respirator because as I'm sure you know, fine fiberglass in the air is deadly to your eyes and lungs. Good luck. I'm enjoying your process.
http://m17-375.webs.com/huldeckjoint.htm This is Howard's article
Pam Port Townsend, Wa
On Apr 7, 2013, at 3:52 AM, Robbin Roddewig wrote:
Happy Spring M-boaters! I started to remove the toe rail in preparation for my repair of the hull to deck joint yesterday. What I have been reading is to do a "small" section at a time by unscrewing (in the case of the M-23) the fasteners and toe rail, moving toe rail, prying apart, sealing with 3M5200 and refastening without turning the screws once they are sealed in. This is fine in theory, but I do not see a practical way to do a small section at a time. I had a small section unscrewed in the middle down by my leak at the bottom of the sheer curve and the toe rail was not about to move out of the way to let me work on the joint. It would seem to me that I need to remove the back half of the toe rail and work on that section then move to the front. Any advice from folks that have done this repair? I assume the "small section" approach is so that you do not loose alignment of the hull and deck. So would it be better to remove a largish section of toe rail, repair small section of joint at a time putting in screws to hold, then remove screws and rebed them when the toe rail goes back on? Guess I should wax the screws I am using for the temporary fastening so the 3M5200 does not bond them in? I would also appreciate any inside info on how to best pry open this shoe box joint and repair without breaking anything!
I have most of the new slats varnished and ready to go back in once I have made the repair. Just need to figure out the shelf.
I have the updated pictures on my photo site https://picasaweb.google.com/110938325409185510143/M23
Thanks!
Robbin M-23 and M-10