Bringing Her Back

[faustkaren]

I am trying to fill a bunch of little screw holes. The previous owner put clamps and clips all over my girl that I will never use. What is the best way to fill and buff holes no bigger than a #10 screw? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am not finding much in the search engine. We are just finishing our second season, and I am sure I will never need these protrusions that only make walking and sitting a pain in the @$$!

 

[Joe11688]

Filling them is simple. A good fiberglass epoxy with filler mixed in. The hardest thing is matching the Gelcoat especially if it's on the nonskid.

 

[emergpa1]

I am trying to fill a bunch of little screw holes. The previous owner put clamps and clips all over my girl that I will never use. What is the best way to fill and buff holes no bigger than a #10 screw? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am not finding much in the search engine. We are just finishing our second season, and I am sure I will never need these protrusions that only make walking and sitting a pain in the @$$!

Yes, epoxy. Start with west system. Pricy but the pumps work great and that is critical . Also Wesr system makes it very easy to determine the right filler. Consider using Jamestown distributors website to fight per out what you need. Buy plenty. Once you get comfortable with the stuff you will wonder how you ever got by without it. Great for all kinds of things around the home, auto, and boat. it keeps forever.

 

[Joe11688]

West System also makes a new thickened epoxy adhesive that come in a tube. There's no mixing involved and all you need is a caulking gun.
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/new-six10-epoxy-adhesive/
One of my friends used it on his O'Day 30 and he swears by this stuff. It's great to work with.

 

[faustkaren]

They are starting to know me at W.M. I know it's cheaper to shop around especially on the internet, but they have a location 25 min. away. I love going there. So now I dive into the epoxy. Thanks for the input.

 

[Indysailor]

Nothing wrong with West Marine, if that's a convenient place to shop. There's a great guy who works at the WM up in Indianapolis and whenever I have stopped in there he's spent probably a half hour talking to me about O'Days; he had a 25 for many years.
As far as I know he's the only person at that shop who knows sailboats; the other guys act like they are powered by voodoo.

 

[faustkaren]

You mean they're not?

 

[Joe11688]

You mean they're not?

Some of the people who work at West Marine are pretty knowledgeable. I've met a few including a guy whom I knew previously from a boatyard he once owned and ran in the same area as the store. After he sold his boatyard he went to work for WM and soon became head of the store.

I also met a girl named Holly who worked in Boat US who was very knowledgeable and helpful. I always dealt with her personally whenever I needed something in that store.
The only way to find out how knowledgeable they are is to talk to them and ask them questions about the products on the shelf.

 

[faustkaren]

Filling them is simple. A good fiberglass epoxy with filler mixed in. The hardest thing is matching the Gelcoat especially if it's on the nonskid.

Joe, when you say good, do you have a favorite?

 

[emergpa1]

Joe, when you say good, do you have a favorite?

I'm not Joe, but I would start with West system epoxy. Reasons, and I've used a lot, is that the pumps work very well. Pumps on cheaper Epoque see do not work as well. Also, when purchasing be sure to get several graduated cups, and small throwaway brushes for your mixing and wetting out. The other thing is that West system uses a numbering system that makes it extremely easy to match different components of the epoxy filler. You will pay about 20% more. I would like to suggest going to Jamestown distributors and search epoxy and look at both of their ads and their how-to videos. You also get an excellent description of the products. And finally I have called Jamestown several times for different questions they are prompt courteous and very informative. Sorry the typos, Siri auto corrects and I do not have time to type ha ha

 

[Joe11688]

Joe, when you say good, do you have a favorite?

I suppose that my favorite would be West Systems Epoxy. It's all I've ever used.
Years ago I bought some micro-balloon filler, both the white powder and brown and that stuff keeps forever. I still have plenty of this stuff left over. I also had some small packets of the West System Epoxy and hardener which also lasts forever.
I ran short of those and I needed to fill in some bolt holes on my deck and I was able to buy just the extra packets of the epoxy/hardener at WM a lot cheaper than buying the fiberglass repair kit. This stuff can last for years and years in these packets.
This friend of mine has been using the new West System Six 10 Adhesive Epoxy. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/new-six10-epoxy-adhesive/ He's been using it on his O'Day 30 and he swears by it. All you need is the caulking gun and you can get extra spouts for the tube.
This is the stuff I would use. It won't run or sag. This is what you want in a good Epoxy.

Years ago I built this peg board to hang my lines inside my lazarette. I did a real Mickey Mouse job of attaching this board in there and I'd be ashamed to show it to anyone. I should have built some sort of a base for this board and epoxied it right in there. This is where that Six-10 would come in. If you open the lazarette hatch, you can't really see it but I know it's hacky and that really bothers me. I think I'll correct that this spring.

 

[Joe11688]

I'm not Joe, but I would start with West system epoxy. Reasons, and I've used a lot, is that the pumps work very well. Pumps on cheaper Epoque see do not work as well. Also, when purchasing be sure to get several graduated cups, and small throwaway brushes for your mixing and wetting out. The other thing is that West system uses a numbering system that makes it extremely easy to match different components of the epoxy filler. You will pay about 20% more. I would like to suggest going to Jamestown distributors and search epoxy and look at both of their ads and their how-to videos. You also get an excellent description of the products. And finally I have called Jamestown several times for different questions they are prompt courteous and very informative. Sorry the typos, Siri auto corrects and I do not have time to type ha ha

I haven't bought anything from Jamestown Distributers but the guy who is head of the Beach and Docks in our YC has been driving down to their newer store in Bristol RI and buying stuff for the club.
Years ago my wife and I sailed to Jamestown and visited their store on the island. The next time I'm in Bristol I'm going to check out their store.

Joe

 

[faustkaren]

Jamestown definitely seems to have some good stuff. They have a complete West Systems package. Epoxy, hardener, glass, filler, and pumps, etc. One Stop Shop.

 

[centerline]

I am trying to fill a bunch of little screw holes. The previous owner put clamps and clips all over my girl that I will never use. What is the best way to fill and buff holes no bigger than a #10 screw? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am not finding much in the search engine. We are just finishing our second season, and I am sure I will never need these protrusions that only make walking and sitting a pain in the @$$!

I just finished doing the very same thing to my boat.... not because I dont have any need for the hardware that is attached to the holes, but because someone did not adequately seal them when they were originally installed and they are now stripped out due to rotted core at some of the screw holes.
I removed all the screws and then picked all the loose material out and then blew it clean with compressed air.
then I mixed up a bit of slow cure epoxy and then filled a syringe and with a large needle i injected the epoxy down into the bottom of the hole.
I used a dental pick in the hole to mix it in good and to knock any air bubbles loose in the bottom so they would work their way out to the top..... I did not use any glass filler, just epoxy resin. its strong so now I can re-drill the holes and install the hardware again.
the good thing about using slow cure epoxy for a deck repair is that if you have a small area to repair, you can keep an eye on the cure time and at a certain stage you will be able to use a tooth pick or similar tool to duplicate the tread pattern on your deck. its a bit of a tedious task, but if you want perfection, you can very nearly get it. the window for working it is an hour or so.
once its painted over, no one can tell......

 

[Indysailor]

If it's just here and there holes you could just bed a new SS pan head screw into each spot. Quick, easy, done.

 

[faustkaren]

I just finished doing the very same thing to my boat.... not because I dont have any need for the hardware that is attached to the holes, but because someone did not adequately seal them when they were originally installed and they are now stripped out due to rotted core at some of the screw holes...then I mixed up a bit of slow cure epoxy and then filled a syringe and with a large needle i injected the epoxy down into the bottom of the hole...the good thing about using slow cure epoxy for a deck repair is that if you have a small area to repair, you can keep an eye on the cure time and at a certain stage you will be able to use a tooth pick or similar tool to duplicate the tread pattern on your deck.

I have a few spots to repair tread pattern. I look forward to trying this...Just pulled her out of the water last night. Now she sits in the driveway like an artist's waiting canvas...