by Jason Sanchez, Hobie Hotline June 2022 (Volume 47, Number 2), pp 26-27
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Mineral Spirits
- Roll of 2” 3M blue tape
- Large Sheet of Painter’s Plastic
- Workshop or Mechanic’s Paper Towels
- Large Bucket
- Plastic Scraper
This started as something I thought should be easy, but it wasn’t! When planning my attack, I had to consider all circumstances. Most importantly, I was NOT removing the trampoline!
I have way too much time invested in getting the tramp nice and tight to remove it, so it was staying put. Living down here in Florida, heat is typically our friend when it comes to working on boats in this salty environment. Therefore, my plan was to use a plumber’s torch get the current material soft and make it easy to scrape it off in pieces. Well, that did not work, as when I torched it, the
material just burned. It actually made it worse to try to get off, as the material just got hard. Well, the best thing to do when you’re getting beat by a project is to call a friend who deals with this type of product. My friend suggested I use a multi-tool, to try to get it off in strips. This was not an option for me, however, as I did not want to dig through the black anodize and damage or expose the aluminum. If the aluminum is left raw, it will immediately begin to corrode with the salt water. As in many previous instances, I was left to turn to “YouTube University”. I searched “marine mat removal”.
I watched a short video produced by some guys with SeaDek, one of our local suppliers of this material. Naturally, they were doing a nice flat rear deck of a ski boat. The main ingredient they used was Mineral Spirits. I was a little nervous about how this may react to the tramp material, but, I knew it wasn’t acidic, and more of an oil-based solvent, so it would probably be ok. The key to success here is to trap the mineral spirits into the matting material. This isn’t very easy on a 4″ full radius rail, but I was determined to make it happen. Plus, I had to, because it looked like I sailed by a torch on half of the starboard side!
STEP 1
Cut a 6-7″ wide painter’s plastic strips to the length of each rail (1 for each rail). Apply to the tramp along the side rail with a good 2″ strip of 3M blue tape (I recommend real 3M tape as this has the best adhesive in it).
STEP 2
Cut pieces of workshop or mechanic paper towels (light blue) into the 6-7″ pieces as well. These are a little more durable and do not fall apart as easily as household paper towels. Drop into a bucket and pour in mineral spirits to soak the paper towels until dripping wet.
STEP 3
PREP: Before applying the soaked paper towels, lay a drop cloth over the hull to stop any chemicals from dripping on the top of the hull. Then Pull out a bunch of pieces of the tape so that they’ll be ready for step 4.
Apply the soaked paper towels along the entire length of the rail so that there is enough that will wrap around the whole rail from top to bottom of the tramp.
STEP 4
Wrap the plastic around the rail, starting on the top of the tramp where’s it’s already secured, working your way around the bottom and using the strips of tape that you’ve made ready, fasten the plastic to the bottom of the tramp. Again, the goal is to trap the chemical onto the rail material, and to do so, it needs to be as airtight as possible. The chemical will need to soak into the material, ultimately softening and releasing the adhesive. The YouTube video said to let it soak to 24hrs. I found that this was too long, 3-5 hours will work.
STEP 5
Once the time has passed, remove the plastic from the top with a plastic putty knife. The foam comes off fairly easily now. Allow it to hang below and you will be able to pull off in larger pieces with the putty knife. I had a rag soaked in mineral spirits handy to help remove the adhesive. I found that rubbing the remaining adhesive with the soaked rag and your hand will remove it.
STEP 6
Now that you have the old material off, rub the rails thoroughly clean of any oils or residue with a rag soaked in Acetone. This is needed to make sure the new material will adhere.
You are now ready for new side rail material! There are a lot of options out there. Most of the products our there will work. It really comes down to your personal preference of color scheme. Have fun with it and add some flare to your boat! Good Luck!
