Repairing holes in transom?

[BigJ08]

Took an old and corroded kicker bracket off the back of the boat. I don't do any trolling, and it was impeding access to the back of the boat. Now I need to figure out how to patch the four holes left by the bolts. I have some fiberglass resin (polyester) left, so I was thinking peanut butter was probably my best bet. The only other thing I could think of was to put the bolts back in with some 5200. I also need to do the same thing with the screws for the old transducer mount.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

fill the bolt holes with 5200, you can do the same to the screws, or marine tex.

 

[BigJ08]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

fill the bolt holes with 5200, you can do the same to the screws, or marine tex.

I have used 5200 on thru hull fittings before, but I was wondering, is it sandable (is that a word?) after dried.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I have some fiberglass resin (polyester) left, so I was thinking peanut butter was probably my best bet.

Ayuh,....

That sounds like a Plan....

 

[kabcpapc]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I vote for putting the bolts back in sealed with 5200. Who knows, you may decide later to put the bracket back on or you sell the boat and the new owner wants a kicker bracket.

 

[kaferhaus]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I vote for putting the bolts back in sealed with 5200. Who knows, you may decide later to put the bracket back on or you sell the boat and the new owner wants a kicker bracket.

Ah.... better use 4200 if you ever even think that those bolts might have to come back out! Been there and done that. Wasn't pretty.

5200 is pretty much permanent. 4200 is better used for anything that may need removed at some point... like plastic thru hulls and the like.

I'd peanut butter them... if your hull is already painted then a bit of sanding and paint and it'd be invisible. If your hull is not painted then you could still sand it a bit shallow and use some gel coat touch up.

I'd hate to put the bolts back in but that's just me.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I would use the 2 part marine epoxy ....... first I would use a drill bit to clean out the hole.......... cut off a chunk of marine epoxy and knead it up and stuff it in the holes ........... both sides for the ones that go all the way through. It can be sanded smooth.

I had purchased a cuddy cabin and plugged up about 50 holes from old downriggers and varios electronics. The marine epoxy will even adhere if the wood in the hole is damp.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I have used 5200 on thru hull fittings before, but I was wondering, is it sandable (is that a word?) after dried.

A: It is sandable, sort-of. No, it does not really smooth out when abraded this way. High-speed sanding disk can level it a little bit.

B: I always thought sandable was a word

I would use epoxy paste because it will do the job and be easier to smooth and paint.

 

[BigJ08]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

I do have some epoxy putty laying around that I used to patch some smaller holes. It just seemed a little hard to sand. The hull most likely won't be painted for a while, so I want something that will look decent. Thanks for all the help!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

you could also use a wooden dowel and feather out and glass over.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

...It just seemed a little hard to sand. The hull most likely won't be painted for a while...

Epoxy is easy to sand well compared to 5200 which isn't really designed to sand. I have a tube right here and it doesn't mention it being sandable on the label.

What I would do is degrease around the holes with your favorite solvent and lightly sand the area around the holes. I use lacquer thinner sometimes and enamel reducer usually but I get stuck in ruts- there may be a modern, safer way- I don't know.
Then cut a hole in masking tape, and place it over the transom holes, mix up your epoxy, and putty knife it on over the tape and hole.
After curing, take a disc sander and sand the epoxy down until you just barely abrade the tape a little, and then remove the tape. It won't be perfect but you will have a repair that doesn't look like a drunk drywall finisher troweled it on

 

[BigJ08]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

Ha, drunk drywall guy. I hope it doesn't turn out like that but you never know . I think I'm gonna try the epoxy putty today. I'll post pics of how it turns out.

 

[BigJ08]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

Went the epoxy putty route. Think it turned out fine. Heres a few pics.

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[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

Looks good!

 

[BigJ08]

Re: Repairing holes in transom?

Here's a few pics of the kicker bracket that I took off, if anyone needs one. It's pretty rough, I never could really get it to work when it was on the boat. It's located in Central FL. MarkVT_Fisherman, if you are still interested, PM me back.

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