CarpeDiem 37 Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 2 hours ago, Jasetheace02 said: This is the shape of the track, not flat on the bottom so makes it a little difficult to seal. I would definitely use Bed-It for that kind of track. https://shop.marinehowto.com/products/bed-it-tape Also I would countersink all the deck holes so that the Bed-It can seal around the bolts. Have you seen this instruction article? https://marinehowto.com/bed-it-tape/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fish 699 Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 Yes, 291 is the stuff, and 180S is spot on, and in better detail than me. It is definitely a 2 person job. Firstly to lay down the sika and place the track on it, then to tighten the nuts while someone uses a big screw driver to ensure the bolts don't rotate. Jasetheace02 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jon 159 Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 I second the countersink the holes from the deck so you create a good washer of sealant between the track and deck plus tighten nuts and don’t let the bolts rotate Did mine twice, then found water was coming from around windows and tracking along track bolts, fixed that and now tracks don’t leak. 😂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dtwo 135 Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 Plus 1 for countersinking the holes. It provides a lot more sealing surface area. With that track profile I would also be tempted to put the track down on top of a 3/4mm plastic strip, just wider than the track. Push all the screws through track and plastic, put sealant between plastic and deck, tighten from below. It would be challenging to get a good sealing effect just putting the bolts straight through as there is nothing to "squeeze" the sealant, so it forms a good gasket. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jasetheace02 9 Posted January 2 Author Report Share Posted January 2 14 minutes ago, Dtwo said: Plus 1 for countersinking the holes. It provides a lot more sealing surface area. With that track profile I would also be tempted to put the track down on top of a 3/4mm plastic strip, just wider than the track. Push all the screws through track and plastic, put sealant between plastic and deck, tighten from below. It would be challenging to get a good sealing effect just putting the bolts straight through as there is nothing to "squeeze" the sealant, so it forms a good gasket. Cheers. I understand the concept of counter sinking however in this case I am not sure as the current holes 'just' fit inside the two rails that sit on the deck. Any countersink would put the diameter outside the rails and into open deck, if that makes sense? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lateral 119 Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 Butyl tape formed rings under track and 291 under washers below deck worked for me. Five years now. My track came with a wider aluminium spacer for under the track, which I didn't use Countersink is not only a hard edge stress reliever, the butyl gets to form a compression O ring in the countersink. Was suss on nylon fitting under screw head, hence 291 backup. My old ones had split. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dtwo 135 Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 The shape of the track means that you will struggle to get a proper seal around all the holes unless you either completely fill the groove underneath with sealant, or have some sort of additional strip between the track and the deck. Most fittings, when tightened down, clamp the sealant and effectively squeeze the sealant around the fastenings. Your track is not able to do that so you will need to think outside the box. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mcp 20 Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 No question, use Butyl tape and counter sink the holes a little and wrap a small amount around the top end of the threads before insertion. Tighten 90% and re-tighten/torque a week later. I have never had a leak with butyl tape. https://www.premiertapes.co.nz/butyl-tape-gp/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jasetheace02 9 Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 10 hours ago, mcp said: No question, use Butyl tape and counter sink the holes a little and wrap a small amount around the top end of the threads before insertion. Tighten 90% and re-tighten/torque a week later. I have never had a leak with butyl tape. https://www.premiertapes.co.nz/butyl-tape-gp/ Thanks MCP. Is someone able to briefly explain how I would go about using Butyl tape on an application such as the sheet track pictured above? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sail Rock 15 Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 On 2/01/2021 at 4:49 PM, 180S said: I did the same as Fish using Sika 291, the trick is too do the last tighten after it’s hardened but before it’s fully cured. And tighten the nuts not the screw of course Same here. Get someone to hold the screw in place with a screwdriver to prevent it turning and breaking its bond with the sealant, while you tighten the nut from below. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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