I recently completed my Chesapeake 17 LT and outfitted the cockpit with seat, hip pads, and knee braces built up from 1/2" closed cell foam and held on with contact cement.

I was disappointed to find that everything came apart once it got wet (I thought I would try a roll and was successful in doing it halfway!). Thinking the problem was the old cement that I used, I bought a new can and reinstalled everything. Although it seemed to hold better, I still lost a knee brace, and maybe would have had further problems with longer exposure to water.

Any suggestions? All the info I've seen suggests using contact cement for this purpose. Is there more than one kind? I used Elmer's 'Neoprene-based' cement.

I have heard that the 3M '5200 marine sealant' is excellent stuff that never comes off. Maybe I should be using that?

Thanks for any help - Dave