Deck of my bass boat separating from the hull! How do I fix it?

Question

I have a 1990 fiberglass bass boat. When I was putting it on my trailer this weekend, I noticed that the deck is separating from the hull up at the bow. I can lift up on the rubber/rope bumper strip and the get about a half inch of separation between the hull and the deck. This scares that heck out of me. How can I fix this myself?

Answer 1

Go to an auto  paint store. They usually handle fiberglass materials. See what they say. I wouldn't think it would be hard to repair. It basically became unglued.

Answer 2

On most boats of this design, the deck and the hull are made from two separate moldings, and glued together.  Sounds to me like the glue that holds the two parts together is failing. This is probably NOT a huge problem, as it doesn't really effect the safety or integrity of the hull, but I would go talk to one of the mechanics at your local boat dealer's to see what he recommends to make repairs.

Answer 3

Well,the top of the boat is sitting on the bottom.Usually,the top over laps the bottom,and that trim piece(aluminum) with the black rubber in the middle.The black rubber comes out and under that is pop rivets that go through the trim piece and the fiber glass(Both top and bottom of the boat)The pop rivets are about 2 1/2" long(that so they can go through all 3 pieces)But, you should put silicone in between the top and bottom of the boats over lapping pieces.Then once that is done,drill a few more holes in the aluminum trim piece and into the fiber glass.Now pop rivet it all together,all the way around the boat(extra holes with rivets wont hurt).Put the black rubber insert back in and your done!!

Answer 4

The top hull is probably glued to the bottom hull, with the joint at this bumper strip. You could glue it back with a two-part epoxy, using tight tie-down straps around both parts to clamp it while it dries.  Depending on the configuration of the mating surfaces, you might need to use duct tape on the inside joint surface to keep the new glue in the joint.

Use a marine polyurethane sealant on the joint below the bumper strip to keep water splash out, and to glue the strip in place.