Really embarassing question....

[dneill]

Last year I was told that I should fasten my battery to the hull of my boat since it was in an area where I store my gas. Not thinking (and that is so much of an understatement it isn't funny) I proceeded to drill a small hole right through the hull of my Oday 25. As I pulled the drill bit out, a stream of water started to shoot up into the boat. I sat there in utter disbelief and panic. I wondered what on earth was I going to do and then I decided that the only thing to do was to put a screw in the hole. Forutnately that worked and the leak stopped. I put some caulk around it and let it go for the rest of the season keeping a watchful eye on the bilge. Fortunately the boat never sank and it is now on dry land awaiting my efforts to get it ready to put it back in the water.
So here is my question. Would you remove the screw and if so what would you use to fil lthe 1/8 inch hole, epoxy, etc? Or would you just leave it in and rest assured that I am more likely to die from falling overboard or strangling myself on a halyard? If it is epoxy what is the cheapest and best stuff to get that is simple and safe to apply?

 

[MitchM]

if you can see the screw tip from outside the boat i'd say remove and all the hole with a west marine epoxy patch kit. if you ever try to sell the boat, having a tip of a screw poking thru the hull may make prospective buyers wonder what else is wrong. the being said i once had a 'professional' at a yard do the same thing, with boat in the water. the difference was when he saw what he did he slopped some quick cure product on it.. i came to check my boat and there was 6 inches of water already in the bilge from the hole. i and to commandeer the travel lift for an emergency haul above water line and then scream at the yard to fix this mess properly.

 

[Skipper]

I do 95% of the work on my boat.
However, when it comes to the hull, especially below the waterline, I wouldn't mess with it.
Get the yard to fill it with resin or epoxy or whatever they deem suitable to patch a hole in fiberglass.

The screw will allow water in through the bottom of itself since it's not bedded or sealed. Even if water doesn't make it past the top sealant into the bilge.
That may cause glass delamination over time, or rust/corrosion, or both, causing the screw to become dislodged. Particularly in pounding chop.

It shouldn't cost much to patch.

 

[Daveinet]

How thick is the hull in that location? I'd be inclined to epoxy a plastic or nylon screw into the hole. Once the epoxy dries, take a knife and cut the excess off the outside. Should be flush with the hull and no one will ever see it. Another option would be to drill it bigger and install a flange and a drain plug. Make it look intentional, as well as properly installed.

 

[Benny17441]

Yes remove it let the area around the hole dry and fill the hole with epoxy. Some gel coat can be applied to the exterior to repair the damage. A 1/8 inch hole is not critical but you want to keep moisture out which I don't think the screw might do for a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I would also pull the screw and fill with epoxy. 1/8 inch shouldn't be too big for that. Assuming the bottom gets painted I wouldn't bother with gelcoat, it'll be covered up anyway. See here for some examples.

 

[dneill]

Thank you all for the great advice.

 

[njlarry]

First thing you did right was purchase an O'day, the second was only drilling a 1/8 inch hole. Almost any repair you do will last forever. I would heal the boat over, inject west marine 10-6 in and enjoy life till the next time you haulout and can properly fair the outside. A 1/8 hole is not that big a deal. The hull is solid glass with no coring, yeah O'day!

 

[dneill]

nj.larry..the boat is on land currently...I am on the northeren Chesapeake...

 

[SG]

If you caulked, or used something like 3M 4200, I would be concerned with The adhesion between the hull and epoxy. I would remove the screw, drill out the hole so it's clean (say 3/16"), then I'd screw in a 3/16 screw so as to have contact surface. I'd then remove the screw, clean out the hole and the inside surface of the hull with alcohol, let it dry, and fill the hole West epoxy. (Make sure it's completely filled by injecting it form above and taping it from the bottom.)

Sand the bottom so it's flush and paint it with bottom paint. A little overfill of epoxy on the inside should be left.

 

[njlarry]

nj.larry..the boat is on land currently...I am on the northeren Chesapeake...

Then I don't think you have a problem. Call the 800 West System help line and see what they suggest. I like G Flex because it does not require any thickening and you can just mix as much as you need. Epoxy binds to almost anything and a 1/8 inch hole is not a structural problem.

 

[SG]

Epoxy binds to almost anything.

There are number of things that aren't good for epoxy to bond to. Beyond that, the West site includes instrucuctions to clean, among other things, caulk that might be lingering.

https://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2/epoxy-basics/surface-preparation/

 

[JimInPB]

When I was a foolish teenager, I went to install a bilge pump & float switch in a boat that was sitting in a slip. I drilled my first mounting hole in the lowest spot I could find near the transom. There was a little recess there that just looked like it must have been made for a bilge pump. When I drilled the pilot hole, I was surprised to find that the glass was only about 1/4" thick in that area. My eyes grew wide when I saw the same little mini geyser that you probably saw. A screw in the hole kept the boat floating until I could return with a tube of Boat Life brand Life Calk. I grabbed that stuff because at the time, it was the only thing I knew of that would cure under water. A smear of that stuff on the screw sealed things up for the rest of the season. When the boat was hauled in the winter, I laid in a couple of layers of glass with studs sticking up to permanently mount the pump & switch. The screw would have continued to work well, but it just looked bad, sticking out of the bottom of the boat. Once fresh bottom paint was back on the boat, the blemish was hidden for good.

 

[Will Gilmore]

on removing the screw. The worst scenario would be water getting between the laminated glass sheets. The fix is easy and can be made to completely disappear. Epoxy and gelcoat.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[njlarry]

Epoxy binds to almost anything.

There are number of things that aren't good for epoxy to bond to. Beyond that, the West site includes instrucuctions to clean, among other things, caulk that might be lingering.

https://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2/epoxy-basics/surface-preparation/

Fiberglass is not one of them.

 

[shemandr]

You shouldn't just put an epoxy plug in there. I would be afraid that if you hit a wave the epoxy plug would shoot out of there. For evidence I'll cite my friend's C&C repair for a head discharge thruhull. He did it all up nice using a thru hull that doesn't bolt to the hull - because he's an avid racer - and he hit a wave and the thru hull shot across the cabin with the hose still attached. He had some pucker moments.
The standard technique for repair is to scarf the outside of the hull in a 12:1 bevel. The 1 is the thickness of the hull. Then lay fiberglass cloth in successive layers it fill the defect. It is controversial as to whether you should start with small pieces of cloth and use successive larger or vice versa. I'm not so well versed in the fiberglass cloth or tape but I would use tape since print thru is a non-issue.
As a stopgap repair you could put a bolt in the hole with a washer on the outside of the hull using a good sealant. I don't see that being much different than any other mounting bolt such as for the strut. Of course, you need a washer and locking nut on the inside and it won't be smooth.

 

[JimInPB]

If I was going to fill it with epoxy, I would probably have some milled fibers mixed in.

 

[Ritdog]

Shemandr has the right idea, though the epoxy filler is OK...I personally would lay in the glass in that 12:1 hole he mentions. If you can work from both sides, taper the hole and lay glass up on both sides. large piece should be first, going to small at the top . If you want to go the epoxy filler route, use a mototool with a conical bit and taper the screw hole from both sides like an hour glass. That will keep things together, and not allow it to pop out. Doesn't have to be a big taper.

 

[Sunbird22358]

From your description, I'd say you have more to worry about than that screw...... If you are storing your gas tank INSIDE the boat, and it sounds like you have it in the bilge? That is a BIG NO-NO!!!! Portable gas tanks are not meant to be stowed inside the boat, they should be in a compartment separate from the interior of the boat, the 1979-83 O'DAY 25 had a built-in tank locker in the cockpit that drained into the cockpit and was open to the atmosphere, the lid allowed any fumes to vent away without getting into the boat. If your 25 is older than those, the tank should be stowed in the cockpit strapped down and covered. That way any leaks will drain overboard through the scupper and fumes can not build up in the bilge, just waiting for a spark. Battery should be fine in a locker, as long as it is strapped down against movement and covered to prevent shorting the terminals, however, it is not a good idea to have battery in compartment with portable tanks, even when compartment is vented!
Boats with permanent fuel tanks must have the tank secured against movement, vented overboard and designed to be filled from outside the boat through a deck-level fitting located so that spills are directed overboard. A portable tank should never be stowed inside the boat, as they are designed to vent directly into the area where the tank is and any spills or leaks also just stay where the tank is.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Don’t feel too embarrassed. A Catalina 22 I bought off the floor of the Seattle Boat show had a small leak. Turns out whom ever drilled a snap hole to secure some carpet punctured the hull. I ground down the screw, filled the hole with silicone (84 so I didn’t know better). Lasted till well after I sold the boat.

Les