cnovark
Member
Hi there. I'm working on my new (to me) 76ish (not sure off the top of my head) Sunfish, starting with the coaming. Until this afternoon, the coaming was attached with these rusted screws and a whole lot of caulk. It leaked. I could stick my hand into the hull through the inspection port right behind the coaming and feel the water dripping off the screws.
Today I took the coaming off. I used a knife to remove the caulk (is that the right term?) and then used a rotary tool to make gashes in the screws so that I could get a screwdriver in (actually my dad had to do it; I couldn't get the screwdriver to budge). Anyway, it took about 4 or 5 hours but I got the coaming off.
I ordered the official Laser rivets for the coaming and plan on doing that sometime soon but I have a problem/question:
My coaming was not and is not flush with the hull when I put it on. There's a gap towards the center (see pictures). Is this normal? I'm concerned that this will make the rivets not be watertight. Like, should I try to force it flush and rivet it in? Will the rivets be strong enough to hold like that? Should I just put a bunch of caulk (or whatever) in there and then rivet it anyway? Will that be watertight?
I'm a novice at all this repair stuff, so I would really appreciate any suggestions . Thanks so much!
Today I took the coaming off. I used a knife to remove the caulk (is that the right term?) and then used a rotary tool to make gashes in the screws so that I could get a screwdriver in (actually my dad had to do it; I couldn't get the screwdriver to budge). Anyway, it took about 4 or 5 hours but I got the coaming off.
I ordered the official Laser rivets for the coaming and plan on doing that sometime soon but I have a problem/question:
My coaming was not and is not flush with the hull when I put it on. There's a gap towards the center (see pictures). Is this normal? I'm concerned that this will make the rivets not be watertight. Like, should I try to force it flush and rivet it in? Will the rivets be strong enough to hold like that? Should I just put a bunch of caulk (or whatever) in there and then rivet it anyway? Will that be watertight?
I'm a novice at all this repair stuff, so I would really appreciate any suggestions . Thanks so much!