Small Hole In Hull

[Woden]

I put my boat in the slip at the marina and was called two days later saying my boat was taking on water. I arrived an hour later and to my dismay the boat was half full of water. I pumped out the water, and yanked it out of the water. Upon returning home I found a 1/16 hole in the hull about 7 in. foward and about about 6 in. starboard from the rear transom.

My question is how to fill such a small hole. It appears to be made by a sharp pointed rock. Maybe it came while towing to the marina and my trailer wheels thru a rock.

Being such a small hole I am wondering if I need to go thru the extensive fiberglass repair or just fill it with somthing like 3M5200.

Some thoughts please.

[kokko]

Over the short term, you may be able to fill it will epoxy. If you have the time, sand both surfaces, and patch from the inside with some fiberglass mat and epoxy resin.

[Woden]

I can not get to it from the inside. It must be a exterior repair.

[K.C. Walker]

In my opinion this should be an easy and fast permanent repair. It requires no reinforcement because it is so small, as you say. So, I would take a drill with a countersink on it and taper the edges of the hole most of the way. Fill the hole with thickened epoxy, thickened with "cabosil" or equivalent. Before applying the thickened epoxy wet the repair area with un-thickened epoxy for the best bond. It's on the bottom so you don't have to worry about UV or anyone seeing it.

There is a great repair manual put out in PDF, for free, by West System. It's well worth checking out. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/How ... enance.pdf

KC

[GreenLake]

I concur with K.C.'s suggestion re: plugging a small hole.

Since I can't see your hole, make sure that you don't have crushed laminate around it, from the impact. If that were the case, you would want to grind that away - not so much for structural reasons as to not give a path for water to get into the laminate.

Also check for cracks in the gelcoat, just in case, they might surround a puncture in a star pattern. Those you fix with a gelcoat repair patch. The same patch can be used to cover the expoxy filling of the hole.

[Moose]

If you do repair it:

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... ass+Repair

[Woden]

Thanks Guys for the advice. I work all day Sunday so my first chance to reply. The Epoxy fix sounds good. I was thinking about counter sinking the hole, putting a #10 SS screw in the hole and then epoxing over it. The screw serves as the mechanical backup. I have never heard of the additive to the epoxy mentioned above. Can you help me out on this. Why do I need it?
Pete

[Roger]

talcum or baby powder will provide the same thickening properties at household cost.

It allows the epoxy to not run when you apply it on a vertical or underside surfaces.

I wouldn't put a screw in there though. Fiberglass will seal a hole this size no problem.

[Woden]

Thanks all and Roger. I'll get the stuff from West Marine tomorrow.
Pete