Leaks

In our aft cabin, I re-bed some ports, and I used Butyl tape for the sealant. I read somewhere, where this stuff is absolutely the best to use as a sealant. I had a hard time working this stuff into the seam around the ports, but I managed. Took a while. The first rainfall things looked good. The second heavy rainfall things looked like a small stream. So, removing the leaky port, and re-bedding with caulk, the old fashioned way, should do it. Nope. I used Life Caulk brand, as the marina store was out of the 3M stuff.

Never again

So I now spread this stuff, that I have never used before, around the ports. First rain, and the stream was in full force again, only this time it was actually kind of a soothing sound as it trickled onto my clothes in the cabinet below. I just sat there watching, mesmerized at the fact that I had pulled the ports twice already, and they still leak. Pulling the god damn port one more time revealed that the Life Caulk I used had dried and shrunk to half it's size in less than a week, and some of it was still tacky! Never again will I use that crap!

So yesterday, a hot sunny day with no wind, gave me the opportunity to re-bed  (how many times?) again with the 3M goo. I pulled the remaining port with the Butyl tape, and it was like pulling taffy on a hundred degree day with a slight wind. In other words, the Butyl just strung out all over me and everything else and blew around in the breeze. Damn, I hate that stuff! So after three ports removed, cleaned with Acetone, and replaced, I was ready for this mornings storms.

Butyl tape

I'm 2-1. I have one above Deb's cabinet now, that leaks bad, only it's not coming in around the port, it's running above the headliner, and raining down the hull interior. WTF!!!!!!!!   This is literally killing me.
I can't tell you how perfect I was in applying the goo. Why is it leaking???

After the next blob of showers, it will be ripped out, and replaced with Gorilla tape until I get another sunny day. Is it too early to start drinking?

Oh yea, my wet clothes? I put them in the car to get them out of the way. Four days later, I smelled something bad. Yep. We had to wash them twice to get rid of the funky odor emanating from my shirts and shorts. They smelled like a guy downtown, that I gave some spare change to.