small repair in the hull

[mellocj]

This morning while working on replacing part of the flooring in my 1963 17' Starcraft fiberglass boat, I made a mistake! The screws I was using were a little bit too long. Yes, you guessed it, the screws penetrated the hull.<br /><br />It doesn't look too bad. It is only 1 spot, on either side of the hull below the water line where the screw protruded a little bit. What is the best way to fix this? I am not concerned about looks since it is low where it wouldn't be noticed.<br /><br />Can I drill it out a little bit and then fill it with something like the epoxy they sell at the hardware stores? <br /><br />Mark

 

[oldboat1]

Re: small repair in the hull

There are a number of ways. You could use thickened epoxy pushed into the holes with a putty knife, then epoxy over on the inside (outside too if you like -- won't adhere to bottom paint, though) and put on a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth. Put a piece of tape on the other side when doing the initial fill to hold the epoxy in the hole.<br /><br />You might also just epoxy the screw into the hole -- can grind or sand off either the head or the tip, or both, after it dries. I would still go over it with the fiberglass cloth patch.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: small repair in the hull

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. You can either do the fiberglass patch repair with a kit (pretty messy) or use Marine Tex putty/epoxy like I did (cheap and clean, some left over). Costs about $10 and some time. Mix up the marine tex and put some over the holes from the inside, if you can still get in there. Now do the same from the outside, sand it down flush with hull and paint if you want. MT comes in white and grey. I did mine from outside only with white MT, sanded and spot painted and you can' t tell its there. Strong, too. Probably stronger than the 30 year old hull it went on!

 

[DJ]

Re: small repair in the hull

Marine Tex, is the way to go.

 

[mellocj]

Re: small repair in the hull

Thanks for the responses. On my next trip to West Marine I'll pick up some Marine Tex and try to apply it from the outside. I think I will have to drill out the hole a little bit, it is so small as it is it would be hard to get any of the putty in it..<br /><br />Mark

 

[Capt. Bob]

Re: small repair in the hull

I wouldn't make the hole any larger.... be inventive and think of a way to get a little epoxy into the small hole....like a vacumnn hose held against the hole on the inside and apply the repair material to the outside for penetration...or??

 

[crab bait]

Re: small repair in the hull

toothpick