T&T: Fiberglass Repair

[Woody and Kathy]

Ken & Judy:

Let me begin by asking a question. Is the fibreglas with the wee holes
solid, or does it have a core? If it is solid, the quickest way to fill the
holes would be white (assuming your gelcoat is white) Marine Tex. If you are
not familiar with Marine Tex, this is a two part epoxy paste material. A
nice clean method to fill the holes, is to hole punch short bits of two inch
masking tape, put the tape over the holes, and knife the filler into the
holes. If you do this, there is very little, or no clean-up after the filler
kicks off.

If, however you do have a cored construction, then you really want to be
sure no water will get in, so it would be best to add one additional step to
the above process. Before knifing the Marine Tex (or any other epoxy filler)
wet the inside of each holes with non filled epoxy resin. A toothpick stuck
in a wine cork makes a nice tool for this job. After this epoxy has kicked
off you can then knife the filler in. By the time you will have finished all
the holes, you should be able to start back at the beginning with the
filler, or have a cold one in between then fill the holes.

Now the thought to but the wind up you, if this is a cored construction, is
the core wet from the PO's screw holes, and is the core a plastic foam, or
wood? If you have wet foam core, it is not likely to be a problem except
water may find its way out far from the source, and drive you have crazy
trying to figure out where it got in. If the core is wood, and is wet, you
may have a problem.

 Something all boat owners should know, is screws do not make watertight
plugs in fibreglas. Dipped in a polyurethane adhesive/sealant they probably
are, especially on a vertical surface. The screw, and goop would be messier
than the epoxy filler.

Woody
Marben 27
Port Orchard, WA