Little Hands for a Little Caulk in a Little Crack (MJ Sailing Ep 331)
How To Fill Small Cracks In A Boat Project Using Little Hands
In this episode of MJ Sailing, we continue our journey in transforming a small crack on the boat’s hull. Utilizing only our little hands and determination, we aim to provide an insightful guide to sealing those pesky leaks without professional equipment. Get ready for an adventurous learning experience!
A Closer Look at the Crack
The crack we’re dealing with is situated where the cockpit seat meets the bulkhead, showcasing noticeable gaps and inconsistencies. This problem not only needs immediate attention but also requires a careful touch and understanding to prevent future water ingress.
Choosing The Right Caulking Material
In selecting the ideal caulking material for our project, we went with 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant. Its white color would seamlessly blend into our boat’s design while offering flexibility and durability against water exposure.
Preparing The Crack For Caulking
To ensure a smooth application, the crack needed some preparation. We filled it with a thickened resin, giving us room to manipulate and shape the material as desired. This method provides not only better adhesion but also allows for easier sanding once cured.
Step-By-Step Application Process
- Begin by cutting a small hole in the tube’s cap of the 3M adhesive to allow proper flow.
- Start with small beads on the edges of the crack, focusing on vertical and horizontal alignments for stability.
- Gradually move towards filling larger gaps, applying generous amounts of caulking material where needed. Be mindful that it may require multiple passes depending on how much product has already been used or has hardened within the crack.
- Use a plastic stick or gloved finger to press the adhesive into place and remove excess material, ensuring a smooth and even finish.
The Challenge Of Small Spaces
Working with such tiny spaces was undoubtedly one of our episode’s main highlights. Despite having ‘little hands,’ we faced difficulties reaching certain corners and deeper areas within the crack, resulting in uneven application and potentially needing additional layers to smooth out the surface.
Final Thoughts And Next Steps
In conclusion, sealing cracks using nothing but your hands requires patience, skill, and creativity. Despite our initial struggles, we persevered and managed to complete the task effectively. Now that we have filled the visible gaps on this section of our boat project, our attention shifts towards bonding pieces in place for the helm area, laying down tracks for sliding doors, and ensuring proper water resistance around these structures.
Staying Tuned
Don’t forget to subscribe for more content on DIY boat maintenance! Stay tuned as we venture into fixing the inconsistencies, reinforcing structural integrity, and completing our sailing yacht transformation – one day at a time.
The number of innuendos I didn't even know I made.
I need to add a white caulk to the seam where our cockpit seats and bulkhead come together, and at 6cm wide, it is no easy task.
Matt and I have been working hard in the tent, and we're all about prepping areas for the helm and cockpit doors!
While we're not there yet, these steps are pretty important and will let us move on to the bigger things soon enough. Matt is getting areas of the helm and storage locker ready to bond into place, but has held off on the locker until I can do my job.
While prepping, he has bonded the forward side and top together, so the will be able to plop into place once I finish my work on the sill, and door tracks are added. In the meantime, he's making those (what will be) unreachable areas look good while we still have access to them. A few layers of gelcoat are sprayed on, and then buffed out.
My job is a lot less fun and much more of a pain in the a$$. I need my tiny little hands and arms into the area between bulkhead 6 and the cockpit seat, where the doors will slide into when open. Nearly 3 years ago when we first bonded in our cockpit seats it left open seams, and we never addressed them until now.
I go in to fill the larger cracks with thickened resin, and the next day, clean the area up with some compound and polish. Then comes the nerve wrecking task of spreading a nice looking bead of caulk in that area. We use some of 3Ms UV resistant adhesive, but from beginning to end I suffer through problems with it.
We hope you enjoy!
P.S. If you have spring projects on your own boat and would like 5% off your purchase of Total Boat products, make sure to use our link here!
https://www.totalboat.com/MJSailing
Much love,
Jessica, Matt & Georgie
Link to our boat: https://maxcruisemarine.com/
Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.
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Thank you!, Matt & Jessica
Videos made by Jessica, featuring Matt and Georgie.
00:00 - This isn't a boat - it's our home
03:15 - Creating access to service the winches
06:16 - Filling the seams in the door pockets
11:36 - The set-up of our helm storage area
18:06 - Spraying gelcoat and buffing
19:54 - Prepping to caulk the pocket cracks
28:04 - Closing
Music:
If You're Down I'm Down - Mindme
Lighting Up My Space - Mindme
So Sick of Love - Mindme
Thunder 100 - Superintendent McCupcakes
Pandemonium (Tribute Version) - The Mondays
Camera equipment used:
- Google Pixel 7
- GoPro Hero 8
- DJI Osmo Action 4
Previous Boats: 1983 Trisalu 37 - custom aluminum, built in Quebec (Elements of Life) Where we've been: 2.5 year refit in Indiantown,
Florida; Abacos, Bahamas; St. Barth's; St. Maarten; Antigua; Saba; Azores; Ireland; Scotland; Norway; England 1989
Sabre 34 Targa (Serendipity)
Where We Sailed Her: U.S. - Bahamas - Jamaica - Cuba - Cayman Islands - Honduras - Guatemala - Belize - Mexico - Bermuda - Azores - Madeira - Canary Islands - Sint Maarten - BVI's - USVI's
Editing software: Adobe Premier Pro
Website: http://www.mjsailing.com
Facebook: / mattandjessicasailing
Instagram: / mattandjessicasailing
& / mj_wayfaring
MJ Sailing
Sailing the world to see the world! We're a couple of high school sweethearts in our late 30's that have been on the move for 9 years; creating videos of the ups, the downs, our triumphs and our trials. After circumnavigating the North Atlantic in our last boat Serendipity, (1989 Sabre Targa 34), we took on a 2 year complete refit of our new boat Elements of Life - a custom aluminum 37' monohull. After sailing her to the Arctic, we sold her in 2020 to begin our newest project of building a 42 ft catamaran. Check out our website for more information, and support us by subscribing to our channel and liking our videos. Want to support the production of our videos? - Become part of our Patreon family and get videos before anyone else! - https://patreon.com/mjsailing - Make a donation through the PayPal link on our website - http://mjsailing.com - General inquires, please contact us at: [email protected]
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