Esthetic through bolting.

[danielamartindm]

I understand that to avoid lateral water incursion via capillary effect into core materials, fasteners through cored fiberglass structures require removal of the core from the underside, bedding with epoxy, and a backing plate on the cabin side. How can this be made esthetically unobjectionable when done on the ceilings of living areas?

[Stumble]

It depends on what you find aesthetically pleasing. What you will have is a large fender washer capped with a bolt. But covering this can be done by a lot of different options depending on your preference.

A headliner is the most common. But you can also instal wooden runner, plates, or handrails depending on the bolt configuration. There was a handrail manufacturer a few years ago that matched its bolt pattern to the pattern for jib tracks for instance.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by danielamartindm

I understand that to avoid lateral water incursion via capillary effect into core materials, fasteners through cored fiberglass structures require removal of the core from the underside, bedding with epoxy, and a backing plate on the cabin side. How can this be made esthetically unobjectionable when done on the ceilings of living areas?

All you need to do is decorate your boat with a trendy new industrial look.

I mean, if this is considered modern, you should be able to pass off visible bolt heads as cutting edge:

[dwedeking2]

My previous boat had the bolts countersunk on the inside with "plugs" that covered the holes. Like these:

You can find them at Home Depot or Lowes. While you could see where the bolts were when painted it covered them well.

[Terra Nova]

One method is to use polished washers or backing plates and acorn nuts.

Bedding should (usually) not be epoxy, but an appropriate bedding compound.

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

One method is to use polished washers or backing plates and acorn nuts.

Bedding should (usually) not be epoxy, but an appropriate bedding compound.

Epoxy is generally placed (after a 2" hole saw is used to remove the core in the area of the bolt placement) to seal the peripheral core material remaining before the placement of the bedding material and plate, no?