deck is

G'day Tony

The tar that I mentioned is just plain old roofing tar. Here in the states, it is most often labled as fiber-filled. It's messy though and the stuff can leap 6 feet or more, so if you use it, you'll find yourself covered in it even if you stay some distance from the boat.

The nice thing about it, is that it is relatively cheap, readily available, easy to use, cleans up (kinda) with kerosene, paint thinner, gasoline, diesel, acetone... anything but water.

It settles in nicely, even when applied upside down. The other down side to it, is it stains and in hot weather, at least for the first year or two, can leak a little, staining the surrounding surface.

You didn't ask, but I'll offer this anyways. Your plywood/glass deck is amiable to using any of the sealants that come in a tube, my preference is 3M-101, though I've heard that they have discontinued making it.

My other choice is Life Caulk. Both are polysulfides and have low adhesion. Squeeze it on, install the cleat, tighten down until you get good squeeze out all around, let sit for a few days, or a week or two, then go back and tighten up the fasteners, keeping in mind to, if all possible, only turn the nuts, not the bolt (don't want to risk breaking any seal that the sealant has, at this point, on the bolt.

This method decreases the odds of having so much squeeze out that the seal will be compromised, and also forms more of a gasket rather than just a thin layer of sealant.

Also, any of the oil-based bedding compounds (both Petit and Interlux makes one) will work, even tar, if you like a mess.

Personally, for bedding hardware, I stay away from the polyurethanes (5200)... too adhesive, which plays an important role when you need to remove the item.

I know that I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, again, and again, and again, if not for you, maybe for someone else who is reading this... being that your deck is plywood, it is critical that you pot the fasteners; in other words, drill the holes for the cleat's fasteners oversized, fill the holes with epoxy, then redrill for the size hole that the fasteners need.

Also, I often put a little chamfer around the edges of the redrilled holes, on the outside, just to provide a spot that can allow little donut of sealant to form around the shaft of the fastener. Might not make any difference, but I picture being able to take a fraction of a turn on the nut, when a leak develops, and that little bit of extra thick sealant is able to be compressed just enough to seal things up again. Does it actually do that? I don't know, but then it doen't do any harm either.

Once potted, then install the cleats with a sealant.

When you are done, bring the boat over here so we can see it. Hope that helps, and have fun with it.

Rudy
Briney Bug, Panama City, Fl

On 2/26/2010 8:15 AM, Rudy and Jill wrote:

I've also seen a groove cut into the top layers of the deck with a hole
saw, just deep enough to provide an additional ring of sealer. Rudy's
method of allowing set up before final drawdown makes a lot of sense.

Steve Sipe