86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

[Bzooka]

I'd like to scrap off the outer hull outdrive shield seal material and redo it - what is the best material to use for the new seal ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated - see attached picture, Thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

That's not the seal. That's a bandaid on a stab wound.

There is a large rubber gasket between the transom shield and the transom that seals it, no sealer on the outside is needed.
Typically when you see that on old boats, it's an attempt to stop a leak because the wood in the transom is rotted and causing the leak.
Especially if you have one of the 4 cylinder engines with out the front mounts.

 

[500dollar744ti]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

The 'seal' you speak of is not supposed to be there, somebody was trying to band-aid a bigger problem. That being there is a dead giveaway of transom rot.

You probably want to re-seal that because it's leaking water past the transom shield into the bilge isn't it?

 

[Bzooka]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

The area where the transom shield mounts looks just fine looking from the inside. Doesn't look like any would rot has started at all. Will be replacing the shield seal and bolts/o-rings to be safe though.
Band aid on a stab wound - bit harsh don't you think? And no there isn't and water leaking into the bilge area.

 

[500dollar744ti]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

Well the harshness comes from him being a boat repair specialist and knowing that the sealant, whatever it is, ain't supposed to be there. The only time I've seen this sort of thing done is as a last ditch effort to fix water leaks at a rotten transom. That's probably the only time he sees it being done as well. It's a band-aid because it doesn't fix anything, it just covers up a much larger problem, a rotten transom, which is the stab wound.

When shopping for boats, that sealant being there is a dead giveaway that there's a much bigger issue. The seller will say, hey look it's just been resealed, just serviced!.. what they really mean is.. hey, I've stopped the leak long enough to sell it to someone else, they will figure out it needs a transom eventually and I'll be long gone.

 

[Mullin]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

I had the same issue with my '85. The sealant had dried and started to crack. I just pulled it and scraped it off, tightened down the 6 transom mounting bolts, and resealed it with 3m 5200.

When I pulled off the sealant there was a pretty big gap, nearly .25" at the bottom. I checked the bolts and found them pretty loose and was able to snug it all up really well. I've taken my old boat on some long road trips lately and figured it was just the freeway time that caused all this.
I bought a caulking gun tube of the 3m 5200 and it works like a charm.

I never thought of this as a bigger problem, like transom rot. I sure hope not...

 

[Bzooka]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

Well the harshness comes from him being a boat repair specialist and knowing that the sealant, whatever it is, ain't supposed to be there. The only time I've seen this sort of thing done is as a last ditch effort to fix water leaks at a rotten transom. That's probably the only time he sees it being done as well. It's a band-aid because it doesn't fix anything, it just covers up a much larger problem, a rotten transom, which is the stab wound.

When shopping for boats, that sealant being there is a dead giveaway that there's a much bigger issue. The seller will say, hey look it's just been resealed, just serviced!.. what they really mean is.. hey, I've stopped the leak long enough to sell it to someone else, they will figure out it needs a transom eventually and I'll be long gone.

I agree with you 100%

 

[Bzooka]

Re: 86 Capri 1650 outdrive shield/hull seal

Thanks for the info - I will remove all of it and see what lies beneath.