My rubbing strip was not broken. It was just that the seal between deck and hull was leaking. I did not completely remove the strip but just pulled it off nearly to the bow , undid all the bolts , cleaned and reapplied sealant and replaced the bolts before reapplyong the strip having cleaned out most of the old sealant and filed the strip with fresh. Quite a messy job! To remove the strip you have to prise off a cap at the stern, under retaining screws and then strip can be pulled away. When reapplying the strip it needs to be warm and you need a strong or heavy friend to stretch it to correct length. I would have thought the bit around the bow would be a difficult fit. I did one side one year and the other the next.
The fender strip around the Maid's waistline (!) has finally been replaced. I had to go for the full 30m of moulding to be able to do it in one piece.
Transom end caps were very gently prized off and cleaned ready for re-fitting. Next the three retaining screws on each side were removed, and the old fender peeled away right around the hull.
The ends of the fender were well plugged with old sealant, on the starboard transom revealing a sizeable hole in the hull/body joint. This looked like manufacturing damage, but had been well plugged with sealant.
The new fender was fitted, prising it over each nut and bolt in turn. Some modification was needed at the bow (by removing a v-notch segment of fender on the upper face). It was then left for several days to settle to shape. The really hot weather made the moulding very supple, and each side was removed in turn and fed back on whilst being stretched.
The cross-section of the fender allows a very useful 'bird mouth' seal against the hull and upper works, far better than the original MacGregor fender shape which created a channel that water and debris sat in.
Each end was carefully screwed into place, trimmed and shaped to fit the end caps, and packed with Sikaflex. Not the easiest or quickest of jobs, but well worth doing. With luck, I'll never have to do it again!
Photos will follow when I've worked out how to do it!
My rubbing strip was not broken. It was just that the seal between deck and hull was leaking. I did not completely remove the strip but just pulled it off nearly to the bow , undid all the bolts , cleaned and reapplied sealant and replaced the bolts before reapplyong the strip having cleaned out most of the old sealant and filed the strip with fresh. Quite a messy job! To remove the strip you have to prise off a cap at the stern, under retaining screws and then strip can be pulled away. When reapplying the strip it needs to be warm and you need a strong or heavy friend to stretch it to correct length. I would have thought the bit around the bow would be a difficult fit. I did one side one year and the other the next.
The fender strip around the Maid's waistline (!) has finally been replaced. I had to go for the full 30m of moulding to be able to do it in one piece.
Transom end caps were very gently prized off and cleaned ready for re-fitting. Next the three retaining screws on each side were removed, and the old fender peeled away right around the hull.
The ends of the fender were well plugged with old sealant, on the starboard transom revealing a sizeable hole in the hull/body joint. This looked like manufacturing damage, but had been well plugged with sealant.
The new fender was fitted, prising it over each nut and bolt in turn. Some modification was needed at the bow (by removing a v-notch segment of fender on the upper face). It was then left for several days to settle to shape. The really hot weather made the moulding very supple, and each side was removed in turn and fed back on whilst being stretched.
The cross-section of the fender allows a very useful 'bird mouth' seal against the hull and upper works, far better than the original MacGregor fender shape which created a channel that water and debris sat in.
Each end was carefully screwed into place, trimmed and shaped to fit the end caps, and packed with Sikaflex. Not the easiest or quickest of jobs, but well worth doing. With luck, I'll never have to do it again!
Photos will follow when I've worked out how to do it!
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