Sealant for screws through hull - rtv/silicon/threadlock?

[jhl1963]

Guys, just tub tested my new hull and had some water come in through some of the various screws. Curious what everyone uses for sealant? Thank you.

[tlandauer]

Plumber's putty is highly recommended, I however use silicone sealant , the everyday variety you buy from hardware store. Reason that you DON"T want to use silicone-based compound is that if you want to paint or glue anything later, also it is easy to get the silicone sealant inside the hull when you stick the screw thru the transom, and you def don't want that stuff inside the hull. The silicone is hard to remove completely and it makes these actions nearly impossible, then you have to sand , sand and sand. Hence, plumber's putty.
I do it because I know I am not going to paint or do any work on the area where I apply silicone sealant.

[jhl1963]

Thanks TL - great.

[NativePaul]

Silicone sealant here too, I use acid free electronics grade because I have it on hand for waterproofing electronics.

The anti silicone paint thing has never bothered me as I paint my boats before fitting hardware, and if I need to repaint it the silicone (and the old paint that it is on) will be coming off anyway). I guess if you are a fun runner and put paint over paint without regard to weight it is
something worth considering.