Slick Seal? Good or Bad?

[shombolly]

What do you guys think?

[Thad Van Gilder]

I like interlux brown and white better

-Thad

[pcford]

Slick Seam is just fine for what it is:

A seam compound which is quickly applied to a dried out boat and will swell out of the seams as the seam narrows after the boat goes back in the water.

It is commonly used for this application.

[Dan McCosh]

Slickseam is beeswax with some filler in it to make it thicker and more heat-resistant. It is mainly a kind of temporary seam compound that squeezes out of the seams when the boat swells. It adheres well, but lacks any "memory" to spring back if the hull dries again. I once discovered it also squeezes out with a hard impact on the keel. (Don't ask.) It is not intendes to substitute for "regular" seam compounds. It is very easy to push in, particularly when warmed, and does its intended job well.

[ 09-29-2005, 04:19 PM: Message edited by: Dan McCosh ]

[landlocked sailor]

I use it on the cross-planked bottom on my Heidi skiff; it dries out in the winter and the slick-seam provides a quick fix that squeezes out easily when the plankink swells. Rick
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid173/pc7270fc6cad5f4a53e4fe577fb590ddd/f3a92110.jpg

[Adamant]

I've used it on dried out deadwood seams on sail and power boats but havent used it in calked seams. I've always been afraid that it might wax the seams so future calking wouldn't stick.

[Willin']

I once discovered it also squeezes out with a hard impact on the keel. (Don't ask.) I've done a bit of ballast keel bathymetry this summer myself. I hope it's just squeezed out slickseam that's responsible for the additional seepage.

I'll find out soon enough.

[sdowney717]

You could take toilet bowl wax seal rings and mix the wax with some kind of thickener like clay powder.
Plain toilet bowl seal rings are a little too soft.
I tried plain wax and while it helped, it still allowed water in. If it was a little stiffer it would have been perfect.

[Bayboat]

I use Slick Seam every spring before launching a Herreshoff 12.5 and a Hinckley Sou'wester. It works fine and does what it is supposed to do, which is to temporarily stop leaking until the seams take up. It is not a substitute for seam compound and should not be used for topside seams--it melts easily in sunlight.

[johngsandusky]

Slick Seam is a good underwater seam compound. I put it in caulked seams 6 years ago, sticks well, stays put. I often see opinions here that it is only temporary, but the label doesn't say so, and my experience is that it lasts. It does not harden, so it won't crumble.