Deck hardware hole file without access to back side.

[Hillbillybuddha]

1964 Pearson Rhodes 41

I'm getting ready to pull all the deck hardware and stanchions from my deck. I have a bunch of little leaks so I want to fill each hole and drill new holes for the hardware/stanchions I'm going to replace. I haven't found any soft spots but I'm prepared to pull up areas, recore (if my deck is cored?) and repair those areas.

My main concern is I have a hard headliner, that I'm pretty sure is a structural element, not that it really matters as my wife would be pissed if I cut up the headliner. Most of the holes go through the deck and headliner. I'm trying to figure out how to fill the holes without cutting up my headliner to get to the bottom side of the holes?

[Nicholson58]

I’d be surprised if your headliner was structural.

Most decks are solid glass composite at the edge where the hull and deck meet. There is typing overlap where the two are bonded. Your stanchions probably leak because the bedding has failed. Remove and re-bed.

For a boat this old the deck may be totally solid. I would re-bed things before making a major project.

On headliner, our 1984 boat’ s headliner is interlocking segments. One needs to find the key bit to begin to drop it all.

[Hillbillybuddha]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I’d be surprised if your headliner was structural.

Most decks are solid glass composite at the edge where the hull and deck meet. There is typing overlap where the two are bonded. Your stanchions probably leak because the bedding has failed. Remove and re-bed.

For a boat this old the deck may be totally solid. I would re-bed things before making a major project.

On headliner, our 1984 boat’ s headliner is interlocking segments. One needs to find the key bit to begin to drop it all.

A lot of the hardware, I'm not replacing. I don't really want the jib boom and there's a lot of padeyes,blocks and tracks I'm going to move or remove. I need to find a way to fill these holes without being able to get to the backside. Also, a few of the stanchions are loose so I want to fill the holes to take away the wiggle they've developed over the years.

But I will just re-bed the hardware and stanchions that I can get away with just re-bedding. I'm not trying to create work that doesn't need to be done.

[Sparx]

My preferred material would be Thixo thickened epoxy in a tube. This is a Boatworks product. I have been very pleased with to no sag properties. Lightly sand the hole before filling.

[Hillbillybuddha]

Originally Posted by Sparx

My preferred material would be Thixo thickened epoxy in a tube. This is a Boatworks product. I have been very pleased with to no sag properties. Lightly sand the hole before filling.

How do you keep it from coming out the bottom side of the hole?

[40 South]

Originally Posted by Hillbillybuddha

How do you keep it from coming out the bottom side of the hole?

Poke a bit of foam or newspaper down there.

Or if you can get the back, put a piece of tape over it.

[Sparx]

Originally Posted by Hillbillybuddha

How do you keep it from coming out the bottom side of the hole?

The whole idea of Thixo is it is a thickened epoxy product will very little sag. Simply inject a small squeeze into the hole leaving a small crown standing proud. Come back the next day...your hole is filled.

[Hillbillybuddha]

Originally Posted by Sparx

The whole idea of Thixo is it is a thickened epoxy product will very little sag. Simply inject a small squeeze into the hole leaving a small crown standing proud. Come back the next day...your hole is filled.

Just looked it up. That sounds great. I think that's the way I'm going to go.

[OS2Dude]

I'd recommend that you core all the holes (old & new) before replacing your deck fittings. It is basically the same process as filling an unwanted hole, just make the hole .25" or so bigger than the bolt/screw. Redrill the correct sized hole when cured. Makes a water-proof barrier and helps prevent crushing the core by over-tightening.

[mvmojo]

Originally Posted by Hillbillybuddha

How do you keep it from coming out the bottom side of the hole?

If you don't plan to reuse the hole, I've seen them filled by stuffing bronze wool into the hole, packing as much in as possible then filling with thickened epoxy, sanding, fairing, etc. once the hole is filled and set.

[waterman46]

For the larger holes, the low-sag epoxy may still sag too much and if the gap between liner and underside of deck very much, that epoxy may still run into the gap. You can get epoxy thickening materials at marine stores. Mix it to a putty-like consistency. You'll need to mix a pretty thick epoxy to avoid it running out of the holes across the deck, due to the fact the deck is not horizontal.

[sailormed]

Attach a string to a long piece of wood in the middle. Insert the piece of wood in the hole, pull string and attach somewhere. There is your bottom of the hole. Fill first to fill only the bottom if you are afraid of water intrusion via the string.

[roverhi]

Some people suggested squirting residential sealing foam into the puka to fill the space between liner and deck. The foam sealant comes in an aerosol can with 'straw' applicator so easy to poke in puka and fill the space. Sure there will be a bit of a mess so need to clean out any puka to be filled so epoxy or whatever will be mating with clean fiberglass. I tried it one time and got either defective sealant or the wrong foam as it never set up and drained away from the gap so was useless. Have used other brands for other sealing and they did set up so would possibly work. They are a one time use item as the 'straw' plugs up with set foam so you have to work quickly and have all the pukas ready to fill or spend a bunch of money on a can of sealant every time you have a problem puka to seal.

[Disailor]

I like a small amount of pipe insulation followed by a bit of 5 minute epoxy.
The trick for re-drilling for the bolt in a filled hole is finding the center of the filled hole. I've had success by using a 1/2" countersink. Once epoxy has kicked but is still green eyeball the center & drill with countersink (lite pressure). When the cutting flutes reach the fiberglass edges of the hole it will self-center. This will also center the drill for the mounting bolt. This will also give you a conical hole for the butyl sealnt tape to squeeze around the bolt.
Some stantion bases ( the ones where the socket hole goes all the way thru) have a groove for water to drain. Do not fill that groove. Butyl donuts on each bolt after inserting the bolt into the fixture will hold the bolt in place & fill the conical hole n seal. Hold bolt/screw n tighten nut.
When moving a fitting: once your bolt hole has been drilled all the way thru, use that hole to guide a 3/4" hole saw to cut a hole directly in line with the bolt. for a 1/4" bolt, a short 5/16 socket with extension will hold the nut (a tiny bit of butyl will hold a washer in place). Start the nut by hand then finish with a deep socket.

[Disailor]

Bolt holes can be drilled all the way thru the headliner & enlarged with a hole saw. Most good hardware stores have a section with pull out trays. One of these will contain thin plastic "plugs" or caps that can be painted & that snap into the headliner holes.