Should the center console be sealed to the floor?

[TopherMichael]

Total newbie question... Under the center console, I have 2 openings in the floor. One for the Livewell hoses and the other for cables to the rear of the boat. When I was washing the floor, I noticed that water flowed under the center console, not around. I had assumed that the center console would have a seal against the floor, keeping the area dry.

Should the center console be sealed to the floor to help keep the water out?

If the floor did not have any openings, I don't think I would be asking this question.

[mshugg]

Yes, it is desirable to have the console sealed to the floor.  The problem is that on most Classic Aquasports the console had a rolled outer flange that only touched the deck at its outer edge.  This makes it really difficult to seal, and over time the caulk cracks and loosens.  The screws start to leak too.  That’s why so many decks need replacing around the console and tank hatch.

Some of the earliest boats used a teak shim under the console and some have updated that with starboard, or similar material.  This helped because it provided more surface to seal.  Its also the reason that many rebuilds choose to glass the console down or go with an interior flange.

[CTsalt12]

Hi All,

Adding onto this thread.  My console leakage has gotten quite bad so it's time for a better fix. First off, I need to seal better.  The first time sealing I just shot silicone to the outside of the console as opposed to laying a bead down first, then putting the console on top of it, and screwing down.  I didn't know any better...

While I make this better fix, I'm thinking I may need to consider a shim.  In fact my console is cracking at the flange in the front for some reason, perhaps from the amount of weight resting on the thin console edge.  They are Round shaped cracks. 

Third option I'm considering Is butyl tape.  I figure it might be easier to apply than silicone (without taking console out of boat and without the use of a lift to hold console up, I'm going to need to prop it up than remove props to finish the seal).  It also may fill the gaps from a beat up console edge too.

Any thoughts here?  Butyl tape, standard 4200/boatlife/silicone, or a shim?  If shim, will PVC board material work?

[RickK]

When you say leakage, is it getting into the inside from something leaking on the console top, windshield mounting holes or unsealed screw holes? I caulked my console down and then found water inside the console (from how the seat seals against console at the top) that couldn't get out due to the caulking. I used a long sawzall blade to remove enough caulk along the rear bottom to let any water drain out. I guess my point is, sealing too good can be bad too.

[CTsalt12]

I'm likely getting a minimal amount from top of console (it's mostly all sealed and has cover when not in use), but getting puddles coming in from the deck seam.  Funny enough, the water isn't draining well because I thru bolted the rear console flange holes and re-silicone those a season or two ago, the only holes where thru bolting is possible.  So the only place I need water to leak out, it isn't leaking out.  It's hard to trace this leak because it's relatively slow leak that accumulates quite a bit over time. However I have located a few trouble areas.

[mshugg]

For sealant,I reccomend 3M 4000UV.  It will outlast three applications of silicone, but it’s removable.  Sealing the screw holes is even more important than sealing the flange.  Butyl tape will be a mess when you want to remove it.  Repairing the flange is an option too.  The shim can be a toe stubbed.

[CTsalt12]

So I gave the butyl tape a try, mostly because of its abilities to fill gaps, act as a gasket, compress, and seal.  Pretty easy to apply too, I've had good luck with it on re-sealing hatches recently so I rolled with it.  It seems butyl tape was use decades ago and fell out of popularity, and newer version are making a comeback.  I like what I see so far. 

Couple hours of work to remove console, raise it, clean off the moldy old 4200 and re seal it down.  I Can't speak to how easy butyl tape is to remove, but it can't be much harder than silicone or 4000/4200!

We had a good rain storm (and hail) in the northeast so I'm going down to check how well it sealed off the water.  Taking off the console I could see how unevenly the console wears against the boat deck due to the warped console.  Some areas of the deck were worn down to raw fiberglass through the nonskid and gelcoat, whereas some areas there wasn't even an indent from the console. 

If this doesn't work, next step is the shim as that's a bit more labor intensive.