Filling Bolt Holes

[sandycohen]

Hi - I am replacing some cam-cleats - the originals I am replacing are 45 years old, and to my knowledge no longer available. The replacements have a different bolt pattern. What is the simplest effective way to fill the holes I am abandoning? Is any caulk/sealant necessary around the new bolts or under the cam-cleat mounting plate?

I am trying not to turn this into a process of multiple coatings/mixing/sanding - the boat is old and not particularly pretty - one day I will refnish the top side, but until that dies I just need a waterproof solution.

Thanks!

[sailvayu]

If the holes are into a cored section I would pump some caulk into the old holes. I am thinking the new cam cleats will cover the old holes? I am also amusing this is a glass boat not wood. I would use a bit of silicone under the new fitting as well even if not cored or leaking is not a problem. This will keep moisture from sitting under the fitting. Slam er down wipe up the caulk and go sailing

Good luck

[sandycohen]

Hi - How do I know if the section is cored?

It's not smooth fiberglass - the whole boat has a sort of texture to it where you can almost see the fiber pattern in the material. the only smooth spots are the berths which are like a plastic not fiberglass.

Yes, glass not wood. It's a 1965 southcoast.

[sandycohen]

Addendum - the inside of the boat is fiber-like in texture (not loose, but you can see the texture). The outside is smooth, with a rough texture in the paint for grip I assume.

[Sailmonkey]

the texture outside is for grip. The smooth parts inside are fiberglass with a smooth gelcoat finish.
You can tell if you have a cored deck by removing the old fitting and seeing if you've got fiberglass-wood(or a void)-fiberglass.
Looking at the pics of your boat, and not meaning this as an insult, I wouldn't worry about this for a while. Slap the new cleats on and go sailing.
I still haven't made it to the marina yet with my camera to take a pic of the maststep for you.

[sandycohen]

Thanks Sailmonkey! and thanks for remembering about the picture - I will be excited to see it.

No insult taken. I bought the boat floating and sailing, and not pretty. It continues to float, the bilge stays dry, the barnacles on the bottom are content, so I am confident it is structurally sound if worn.

I am trying not to get too far into projects that don't mean more sailing. I.E. jib downhaul was a necessity after I got in a real pickle trying to get the jib down in strong winds and no lifelines. Running all the halyards aft is not righ tnow.

Past weekend I brought a battery over to see how the electrical system has held up. Hooked it up to the fuze panel, nothing happened - I didn't have a voltmeter with me so I couldn't diagnose much, but the positive bolt/terminal ring/nut on the fuze panel were extremely corroded - actually it looked like a hornet had built a nest on top of them, while the negative was clean. So, I removed the terminal ring which meant breaking it off. the bolt remains intact, so I crimped a new ring on, and am going to hook it back up tomorrow.

All of the bulkhead/hull is pretty open underneath so I figure if that doesnt work I will just start running new wires from a new fuze panel rather than try to fix what's there.

The worst part is the switches are built into the berth/bench - the wires go from the breaker panel on the outside rear of the bench, through a drilled hole, into the bench sort of underneath the head. So, there is no way to get at them directly because of the head, and the nuts that hold the operational part of the screw to the concealed electrical box are these tiny shallow nuts. Again i think i am better off abandoning and using new $5 switches.

Anythoughts?

Thanks!

[Sailmonkey]

I'd bet those new $5 switches will fit in the original holes. Hard to say without more pics though.