patching small holes in transom

[tintug]

What I have is a aluminum boat with several screw holes in the transom from old electronics and a swim platfrom that I am not putting back on. I am asking for advice on filling these holes, a few of which are below the water line. These are the options that I have tossed around....1) use a screw and a small flat washer and use 5200 to seal it.....2)use J B weld to fill them and sand smooth to paint over them.....3)put a fiberglas patch on the inside to try seal her up also if the glass would be my best option i can only get to a few of these hole because they are in the out side skin of the transom and I have already put the new wood in the transom and I can't seal them from the inside....I guess I got ahead of myself and should have sealed them first. But too late now. Any advice on this would be great. Thanks..

 

[109jb]

Re: patching small holes in transom

Screw and 5200 gets my vote for the description you gave. I have used JB weld with good success on aluminum boats before. One went several years with a 2 inch gash from a dock piling that we jb welded. Never a problem in the several years we had the boat after that. It was my brother in laws boat. If you had the transom out you could have taken the boat to a welder and had the holes welded up and then sanded smooth.

 

[Lrider]

Re: patching small holes in transom

has anyone used Mineral Spirits to prep the surface and clean up for hard set slow dry 5200

I am allergic to acetone

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: patching small holes in transom

has anyone used Mineral Spirits to prep the surface and clean up for hard set slow dry 5200

I am allergic to acetone

Acetone will not eat cotton. Grab a cotton wrag on a pair of pliers and use that to wipe so you do not have to make contact with it. Use outdoors as not to breathe it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: patching small holes in transom

Forget the fiberglass option......not meant for aluminum.

You could use a pop rivet dipped in 5200..... or JB weld but, I would make sure something is plugging the hole a screw or a pop rivet with the jb weld.

Plan ahead and use some gluvit inside the hull and maybe even a bit outside in the off season (it takes 24 + hours to dry) and that will be your best protection.

BTW if you use a screw or a bolt be darn certain it is Stainless Steel or even aluminum.

 

[tintug]

Re: patching small holes in transom

Thanks for the come back Guy's...I did use Gluvit on the inside of the hull. But I wasn't thinking far enough ahead and I used all that I had on the hull and I sealed the new wood for the transom with it. So I used all that I had.I then and was just hoping for another option rather then another quart of Gluvit.I have some pics of the work so far but am having troble getting them from photo bucket to here.I'll work on that today as I am taking more pics.Got the transom sealed and in,the splash pan back in and today I plan on sealing all the screws ond bolts going through the transom and fixing these small holes as well.

 

[Hank496]

Re: patching small holes in transom

The idea of using a fastener with 5200 is on the right track. I would be concerned that using steel, or stainless steel will create a galvanic corrosion cell even if the steel and aluminum is insulated with the coating of 5200. The safer solution might be to use aluminum fasteners.