filling in ols screw holes on transom

[lime4x4]

installing a new depth finder. should i use marine tex to fill in the old screw holes?

[sirtweek]

I am using marine tex to fill holes after I relocate my instruments so I can mount smart tabs.

Read a bunch on repairing the holes and it seems like marine tex gets the job done.

[jeffnick]

On Shipshape TV they drill them out to 1/4" (only to their depth), pound a resin saturated dowel in the hole, then follow up with gelcoat.

[john from md]

For small holes, i.e. 1/4 inch or less, 5200 is a pretty standard filler. Most items repositioned like pitots and transducers have small holes and don't need structural repairs. Most of the time, these holes are below the water line so you don't need to do the cosmetic gelcoat replacement either.

John

[dingbat]

For small holes, i.e. 1/4 inch or less, 5200 is a pretty standard filler. Most items repositioned like pitots and transducers have small holes and don't need structural repairs. Most of the time, these holes are below the water line so you don't need to do the cosmetic gelcoat replacement either.

This type of thinking is responsible for 99.9% of all transom rebuilds.

To do it right, drill the hole out to get clean material then counter sink. Fill the holes from the bottom with a syringe using epoxy or a similar material.

Gel coat is an option but it shows some professionalism in your repair.

[joy]

I just rebuilt the transom on a project boat and there were 2 methods of hole filling i saw. One was the dowel method, which it was obvious that the water penetrated the other was an epoxy product (looked like epoxy resin mixed at peanut butter thickness). The epoxy "plug" was was water tight. So thats what I went with, and finished up with the gel coat.

[lime4x4]

it's just 3 screw holes below the water line right where the bottom paint is. I'm mounting the new transducer right where the old one was it's just not as big.

[joy]

i know three holes ain't much but it don't take much to rot that transom out, but it sure takes a lot of effort to install a new one!

[Marcq]

From now on for the transom or where there's wood behind the fiberglass , I drill an oversize hole, for a 8 size screw I use a 3/8" drill bit, fill the hole with fiberglass and re drill with the correct size drill bit for the screw. Seems like overkill but no more water for me in the transom, learned my lesson . Thanks to MadDog from Classic Aquasport that gave me the hint

Oh, and to save on the sanding, once I fill up the hole, I put masking tape on the hole to make the finish as flat as possible until it cures

Marc..

[lime4x4]

I will fill them correctly