Fiberglass Work Question

[PurpleCedarPlug]

Need some advise. I've removed the swim platform off the back of the boat and now I need to properly fill four holes that are approx 1/2 X 2 3/4" were the platform mounted to the transom.

Any advise on how to do this correctly would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed

[brokensheer]

you will find here on a BB you with get a number of anwers, that being said this is how I would handle that job,
first things , make sure the work area is dry, even in the holes.
you will need a tyvec suit,
A respirator
suitable eye protection.
and I will assume you have a 4" angle grinder
grooved roller
plastic squeegee

starting with the grinder you will want to taper the the area around each hole kind of like a bulls eye, this will allow your fiberglass to lay below the finished surface of your transom and the same on the inside. so for a 1/2" hole I would say you want a 2" distance around from the center,

I would then cut some fabric disc's from 2oz. chop strand mat, and same with say a 17oz woven fabric, your first pcs will pe the largest and the last being the smallest.

now get some wax paper from the grocery store. and get a good quality epoxy resin,
on the wax paper wet them out one at a time until they are see through, if possible groove roll them on a flat surface on the wax paper,

place the glass over the holes that you have wiped down with acetone using the wax paper as a backing,if you are careful you can tape the wap paper to the hull and us it to smooth the surface
when cured sand and paint to match as you may have an issue with polyester gelcoat sticking to the epoxy.

if you want to get fancy you can get a pcs of peel ply and put it between the fiberglass and wax paper,

also be sure to fill the void with a suitable core material with epoxy as well

PM me if you need further help

All the best Bo

[jaybyrd83ecu]

I wouldn't go as far as Bo recommended unless you want to do a full repaint on the transom. On the outside:I would tape the area surrounding the bolt holes to the edges of the holes. Make sure it is adhered to the transom with no gaps. Then come and put another layer of painters tape on top of the first. On the inside, just tape off the holes so epoxy cannot seep through. Then I would mix up some west system and thicken it with filler until is the consistency of peanut butter and put it into a syringe. (you can get these at west marine) Then stab each hole and inject until they fill and you see the pressure on the tape. Then sand flush by hand with the existing transom and paint the small areas.

If you want to get fancy and make the sanding easier, you can fill the hole most of the way, let it cure, then come back and fill the rest with alexseal and that will be easier to sand.
~James

[PurpleCedarPlug]

Thanks Guys.. Appreciate the information..