Sealant / Caulking

[Alan Peck]

I am looking for advice on sealant / caulking. I am getting ready to attach the mahogany coaming to the sides of the cockpit. I don't need any real strength as I will be using screws on 8" centers.

The coaming will be finished bright wheras the decking is painted. I am looking for a sealant that I can place on the cockpit sides before attaching the coaming. I would like to use a material that can easily be removed from the varnished coaming without causing undo damage to the varnish.

I am familiar with epoxy and silicone and I am not sure either one of those would be suitable.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Ken Hutchins]

I would use Dolfinite.

[Hal Forsen]

Ken, would you varnish the mating surface of the coaming first?
HF

[Steven R]

Just curious... has anyone tried Phenoseal Does It All for marine use?

Steven

[Paul Stohlman]

You can seal the varnished parts with a couple of coats of varnish. Start with thinned as you would when varnishing any raw wood. Some folks would recommend Smith's CPES, or Mar-x-ite, but they are pretty toxic to use.

Seal the painted parts with paint, thinned to soak in.

Dolfinite is a great bedding compound, that cleans well with mineral spirits. I mix a little pine tar with mine to keep it from drying out.

[Ken Hutchins]

I usually use the Dolfinite on bare wood.

[Scott Rosen]

Interlux Boatyard Bedding Compound.

It's a linseed oil-based compound, with very little adhesive strength. It's ideal for bedding anything on a painted or varnished surface. It's okay to use it on bare wood, but the wood absorbs the oil from the compound over time, which makes it dry out a bit. I think Dolfinite would have the same problem.

[Mike Vogdes]

If you don't mind masking off the finished surfaces then mohagany flavored Boatlife works pretty good.

[Alan Peck]

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll try the Interlux Bedding compound since the surfaces in question have already been painted or varnished.

I'll let you know how it works out.