Plugging a Hole in the Hull

[s/v Jedi]

Cheechako,

So your point of view is that because one has thru-hulls it doesn't matter how many holes the hull gets? You must know that every thru-hull fitting is a worry and point of inspection, with wood plugs for emergencies nearby etc. Surely you don't want any more holes than needed!? Also, 101 is a bedding compound that is supposed to go between a flange and a surface, not on top of the head of a machine screw and not to be painted with anti fouling.

Really, a little resin and some fiber is the cheapest and best way to fix that hole. I'd have it done before you tapped the hole. Just drill the "plug" again if you need a hole later.

cheers,
Nick.

[Cheechako]

My point is just that a small 3/8 hole with a proper screwed in plug that has underwater compatible sealant in it (like 101... which was used for years over the hammered in caulking in wooden boats) is a proper arrangement. Hell, wooden boats had plugs purposely put in them for many years, Wilcox Crittendon sold the bronze plug fittings mentioned above for that purpose... It's a 5 minute fix.

[s/v Jedi]

Ah, I thought we were talking about modern fiberglass boats. I don't know much about wooden boats but thought they used tar over that hammered in caulking?

cheers,
Nick.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

<snip> I don't know much about wooden boats but thought they used tar over that hammered in caulking?

cheers,
Nick.

As we all love a little bit of thread drift, let me add that they stopped using tar and started using other products like putty and even cement over the caulking .

[Jonesee]

Gentlemen, he pointed out earlier that he was unable to gain access to the hole from the inside of the boat.

Without access to plug it from the inside, anything other than a permenent fix is foolhardy.

There is a reason we all carry plugs for our thru hulls. Should anything happen to them we have a way to plug the thru hull and prevent taking on water. If the thru hull is totally inaccessible, we are left with a leak or a trip over the side of the boat. And I don't know about your luck, but if anything is going to go wrong with a boat, it happens at the worst possible time.

Take a day or 2 and fix it correctly.

[johnar]

One thing i must say, if you do a quick fix on it now you will pay for it later, do it right fill with epoxy. good luck

[Fotoman]

I think you are right, I will fill it with epoxy and do it right!

[s/v Jedi]

Jane Addams: Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world.

I'm happy others joined me and convinced you ;-) As I was the most persistent one about it, let me describe how I would do it (there's many ways):

First, grind it to a tapered shape without enlarging the hole on the inside part of the hull (use dremel with drum-sander bit or a round file). Clean out the dust. Take a small piece of fiberglass cloth (buy a piece of 2" fiberglass tape of you don't have it) and cut a long thin strip off it. Push/ram it into the hole and shorten it so that it completely fits in. Take the cloth out again. Mix a little epoxy with hardener and use a small brush to wet out the surface inside the hole. Now add a little filler (any non-fairing type, buy some coloidal silica if you don't have any filler) until the epoxy is syrup consistency. Put the fiberglass strip in it until it is soaked; take it out and put it on the side, removing excess while handling it (use gloves). Add more filler until it is peanut butter consistency. Put a little epoxy in the hole and follow it up with the strip of soaked cloth; ram it in tight and finish with more of the epoxy (put on a little too much). Put some tape over it and let cure 24 hours. Sand and paint.

ciao!
Nick.

[Fotoman]

Thanks Nick. During my lunch break today I went to but a West System repair kit ($30). I beleive I have everything I need in it to perform the work as you described. It will be the first time I work with epoxy.

[s/v Jedi]

Your life is about to change ;-) I have to control myself or I would be building wood-epoxy dinghies or even bigger.

If you like it after you finish, check out that book "Goucheon brothers on wooden boat building" from West System. It explains every technique and most of it is useful for fiberglass boats too.

good luck!
Nick.

[GordMay]

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[Cheechako]

too bad you cant reach the back side, you could just put another zinc on your boat there and tie it to ground :>)

[clockwork orange]

Cheechako has the right idea assuming the yard drilled the hole in a good location for draining. Every boat should come from the builder with a garboard drain plug but since most dont a good size flathead machine screw in a tapped hole will surfice, personally i always install a proper bronze fitting from the inside in my boats as a 3/8 hole is a little small and can get plugged fairly easily but is a whole lot better than nothing. All this fear about a small hole needing to be permenantly plugged is absurd.I am a boatbuilder and have been around boatyards for over 35yrs and have seen dozens of boats that have been destroyed by standing water while sitting on the hard that could have been avoided by a simple drain hole.We have a large modern powerboat in the yard right now that had been for sale and a broker left a hatch ajar and the boat took on hundreds of gallons of rainwater doing about $80000 in damage.Kudos to the yard in the case of your boat for drilling a hole.
Steve.

[s/v Jedi]

So, these boats that are damaged without a drain plug... they don't have electric bilge pumps?

Anyway, where I come from, only dinghies have drain plugs. You can always remove a depth- or paddlewheel sensor for draining when bilgepumps fail. You can even take a hose off a seacock. All methods that work without creating extra holes in the hull.

cheers,
Nick.

[clockwork orange]

Jedi, heres how it happens, someone decides to sell his boat, hes got too many other things demanding his time, he lists it with a broker and hauls it out for the winter, pulls the batteries because they are going to gradually lose charge over the long cold northern winter and freeze, and at first he checks on it from time to time but gradually less and less,eventually some idiot broker,probably not the listing broker leaves a hatch open,or maybe leaves or whatever plugs the cockpit drains,there are many ways that water can find its way into an unloved boat.Usually the transducer hole is not at the low point,water can get pretty deep in there before it will find its way out a through hull fitting with the hose off. I actually own a sailboat that i bought off e bay where the owner had died and the wife didnt care about it,somehow the fwd hatch lens went missing and the thing filled with rainwater feet deep,the saving grace is that it had an all fiberglass interior rather than plywood, it does however have bona fide osmosis in the berth tops. I have seen dozens of boats sustain tens of thousands of dollars in damage this way.The best way to avoid this is a drain plug in the lowest practical location, i realize that some boatowners are scared of holes below the waterline but the only ones to fear are the accidental ones.
Steve.