I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

[capt-pete]

Background info: 1978 thundercraft tri-hull bowrider.

My back to back seats were looking really rough, and one had started pulling apart at the seam where butt and back rest meet... so I decided to pull them out today and work on them a little.

Got the seats out, and thought I was looking at the deck on my boat.... So I felt along and thought I felt a ridge where a stringer would be, and thought I would drill a little test hole to see how rotten the stringers are under the deck.. to my surprise, instead of hitting wood, I hit air!

Now what? I have JB waterweld, and some pily-resin and hardener. Is this hole small enough to fill with just resin, or should I put some water weld in there, and resin over and below it? Or, should I go get some more fiberglass cloth, fill the hole with resin, and then go on top (inside the boat) with a few layers of cloth?

Thanks in advance!

PS, I had NO IDEA HULLS WERE THAT THIN! SPOOKY!!! Had I known there was no deck there, I wouldn't have chipped the glassed seat mounts out with a hammer!!!!

 

[geedubcpa]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

Sounds like a little resin - maybe when you are building back the floor you can fill the hole - I would tape the hole from the bottom to keep alot of resin from dripping out, and then let the resin and maybe a little cloth on the top side fix the hole.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

DO you have any cloth?

Here's how one person told me to fix a drill hole in a hull.

Take a dremel and cone out the hole.
Then a piece of plastic wrap and put it over the hole.
Duct tape the plastic to the hull.
Mix up your resin, and fill the hole, If you have any cloth cut a few strands and push then into the hole. Then fiberglass cloth over the "inside" of the hull.

From what he told me, If you did the plastic wrap well enough, you should only have a light sand or buff on the out side of the hull.

 

[rockyrude]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

If that hole is truly only 1/8" you could just use marine tex and call it a day.

 

[lucid484]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

hahah the entire hull on my 24' is about 1/8" thick

 

[seven up]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

Or just get a bigger bilge pump.

 

[capt-pete]

Re: I just drilled a 1/8" hole through my hull!

LOL! Seriously, at least I learned how the boat was put together, I had no idea that I was walking on the hull on all spots other than the very middle where the hull really dips. I figured the deck was at least a couple of inches off of the hull in all spots. I am going to remove the carpet all over this coming weekend, put down a plywood deck, and put some new seats in on rotating swivels. The back to back seats are just too far gone, I think... Anyone have those cheap fold down seats mounted that way? I was also thinking of adding a pontoon 30" or 36" bench seat in the back - that would seat one comfortably and maybe two sort of comfortably, and still leave room to access the gas tanks on either side - the inside measurements are 52" from side to side.