J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Toe rails/leaks?

My first season was a wet one(from the top
down)...now I've removed every single thing
from the deck,drilled holes oversize, and filled with West System after removing whatever "punkiness" I came across in the balsa....My question is,do the toe-rails have a propensity to leak also? I'm behind schedule and don't want to remove them if I don't have to. Please say they "never" leak! Thanks, BC

toerails CAN leak on any boat ! However, there is no CORE in that part of the glass. The deck & the hull both have a "flange" which is un-cored. Toerail leaks are much easier to see, therefore. You can just look & see. They are sometimes tough to access but there is probably no reason to go the epoxy overbore & fill route. Just rebed.

That doesn't mean that some bizarre leak couldn't make it's way clear into the bilge, but not likely.

What about hull-deck joint maintenance. On a number of boats, there is quite a visible seam. Is that something that should be kept caulked? Or filled with epoxy?

The J30 Hull deck seam is super burly. I believe that if one was to pick the boat up by the deck only, she would stay in one piece. The deck is bonded and through bolted through the tow rail. Oh yeah, it doesn't leak. AKILLL HULL 121-Boatyard owner