‘73 transom motor mount holes repair

Apr 22, 2016
161
Catalina 22 Folsom Lake
There were 10 extra holes where my motor mount was secured. They were sealed with silicone on some, dowels and filler (gelcoat?) on 4 others.
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I removed the mount
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Punched out the wood dowels, drilled all holes to 5/16” and beveled the edges.
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I coated the inside of each hole first with thinned epoxy, then 404 adhesive filler thickened epoxy, buttered a 5/16” fiberglass rod cut to 1/8” depth of transom and liner for each hole, then covered with the thickened epoxy.
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Once cured, I sanded all gelcoat off the area.
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Used marine epoxy filler to fill in the holes, then tried using an epoxy gelcoat for the first time. This is a learning process. I made up too much and since it was nearly 90° when I tried applying it, it went off too quick.
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It turned into cottage cheese and I tried to spread it. I’ll be doing some sanding and trying again.
 
Mar 2, 2018
232
Catalina Wing Keel San Diego
Hi Dave,
Just to back up a bit first. I would have beveled the edges of the hole inward as apossed to outward to give more grip to the filler.
Next try spraying the gel coat for a smoother finish. Bottom line with gel coat is if you have enough on there you can always sand down the texture to get it smooth. Good luck.
 
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Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Working out so far Dave !

Preval sprayers work well for gelcoat touchups, when you don't have a spraygun. Easy enough to sand it smooth though. :)
 
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Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
Looks like great work to me. Honestly, I'd probably be okay with leaving the gelcoat as it is. A good bit of it is going covered up by the motor mount and outboard, and visually, I don't think it would even be noticeable under normal circumstances.
 
Mar 2, 2018
232
Catalina Wing Keel San Diego
Preval 's are good but not a lot of control. If you spray it on thick you have more control over sanding and feathering the edges. I start with 225 sandpaper wet/dry with a flat rubber block and work my way up to 2000 until I can hand sand the edges to feather it in.Then rub it out. Doesn't take that long. The most important thing is to not go through the old gel coat on the outside of the repair area.
If your not worried about blending it in just Tape off the area. Apply the gel coat, sand it smooth ,rub it out and be done with it.
When I bought my boat there had been lot's of BAD gel coat repair. Some spots just needed to be smooth out and buffed.
 
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Apr 22, 2016
161
Catalina 22 Folsom Lake
Well, this did not turn out as I hoped, but as I’ve heard it does. My local fiberglass repair advisor, a friend who owns five boats and last year used a sprayer to apply gelcoat, had his turn out with an orange peel finish, which he sanded smooth.
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I suspect I have not thinned it enough, but my whole mixing process is a series of approximations.
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
Looks good to me! Good color match, too. Bust out the sandpaper! Gelcoat is soft, you can sand that down to a mirror in no time. :thumbup:
 
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Apr 22, 2016
161
Catalina 22 Folsom Lake
Well, it has been a week of slow progress. I’m not a fan of the heat and it was over 100° a few days. I wet sanded by hand this time, using 320. Took pics just before my final gelcoat application.
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I went a little high on the acetone to thin the gelcoat, mixing it in before adding the hardener. Still has an orange peel finish, but it came out of the preval sprayer in a mist that seemed more fine and the globules of gelcoat flattened out better.
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More sanding now.
 
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May 24, 2018
31
Catalina 22 Norcal
Dave, we're going to be 100+ through Tuesday, and probably never drop below 70 overnight. Your forecast has me thinking about dragging the boat to Folsom to enjoy the mild temperatures.
 
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Apr 22, 2016
161
Catalina 22 Folsom Lake
Wish I could join you! The bottom of my ‘73 is replete with gelcoat cracks. Need to get those sealed before she gets too wet.