sand vs glue

Gear
#1

i try to keep my boat as clean as possible, but sand finds its way into just about everything; and has done so along the seams of my sprayskirt. and it’s working its way down, eating away at the glue, creating large voids. only a matter of time before it works its way down to where i’d have to have everything re-taped. i’m assuming that i’m not the only one encountering this problem. does anybody else out there have any experience with this? suggestions? preventative maintenance ideas? any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
chris

#2

There is a piece of double sided clear tape used to hold the skirt in place before it is welded down, (I`m assuming this is where your sand issue is) this does not have to be there, the skirt is welded down on the outside (black welded seam) and the tape is only used for temporary manufacturing purposes. Get rid of the tape, peal it all off and when you wash the boat out all the sand will wash out. This was one of the first things I did to my boat to protect the rubber from getting sand, gravel, and water behind the taped part and rotting and rubbing the rubber, and all my sand washes out very easily. If you decide to remove it, which you should in my opinion, take all the little pieces and ball it all up together, you would be surprised how much this tape that is only needed temporally during manufacturing weighs.

#3

thanks for the advice! i’m definitely going to give that a try. thanks again.

chris

#4

i was able to get most of it off; the tape on the boat came off a lot easier than the tape on the skirt itself. and like you said, there was quite a bit of it. wish i woulda known this before i had even put 'er in the water. either way, thanks for the advice!

#5

The floor to tube seam also has the same temporary tape on the inside of the boat.