Hi, O'day 25 novice here - wondering about some future upgrades I am planning to make on my 'girlfriend'. When you drill or cut a hole in your fiberglass boat, besides having very sharp tools so as to prevent cracking, what else do you need to worry about? I keep reading fellow sailors posts about sealing with this product or that. I gather you drill/cut, seal the newly exposed edges, then proceed with your mounting of whatever the thing is... yes? Any advice would be very helpful! Thanks! Oh, and about re-bedding. That would be akin to replacing the caulk around your storm windows of your house, correct? Does one need to rebed just things like vents and windows or do you rebed every piece of hardware (i.e. holes where bolts pass thru for, say, a cleat)? Thank you again, very much for any help on this matter.
drilling / cutting holes / rebedding
- Thread starter DPT
- Start date
- Status
- Jan 22, 2008
- 519
you've got it!
Rebed everything. Not so much by putting a bead around the hardware but ensureing that the holes that the hardware is bolted down with are each donuted with some sealant. That is what keeps the water out! The only other item worth mentioning is that for drilling through cored fg, drill the hole oversize, fill with epoxy, then redrill the correct size. This will prevent water intrusion into the laminate or core. (Core is usually balsa)
Rebed everything. Not so much by putting a bead around the hardware but ensureing that the holes that the hardware is bolted down with are each donuted with some sealant. That is what keeps the water out! The only other item worth mentioning is that for drilling through cored fg, drill the hole oversize, fill with epoxy, then redrill the correct size. This will prevent water intrusion into the laminate or core. (Core is usually balsa)
hole prep
you should countersink into the glass befora mounting stuff, the countersink allows sealer to form 'o' ring of sealer around the bolt/hole that will remain if all other sealer is pressed out during assembly...
you should countersink into the glass befora mounting stuff, the countersink allows sealer to form 'o' ring of sealer around the bolt/hole that will remain if all other sealer is pressed out during assembly...
Get some basic information
DPT - Your questions are good ones and you'll find many of them answered in a few basic technical publications. I suggest you buy the West System "Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance" manual...........it's only abt. $ 5.00 and it provides answers with illustrations etc. FYI, most of the older boats have solid glass hulls ( no core ) and the decks, cabin roofs and other horizontal areas use a cored system, usually with a fiberglass skin on either side of a foam or balsa core. The idea is to get the necessary stiffness in the flat panel without the weight & expense of s solid glass laminate. Balsa is the less expensive core material, so it's the most commonly used. It works fine, but will rot when water gets in. And water will eventually seep thru any hole or opening cut thru a cored deck, which is why you'll see so many posts about soft decks, stanchions etc etc. Read the West manual.........you won't regret buying it.
DPT - Your questions are good ones and you'll find many of them answered in a few basic technical publications. I suggest you buy the West System "Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance" manual...........it's only abt. $ 5.00 and it provides answers with illustrations etc. FYI, most of the older boats have solid glass hulls ( no core ) and the decks, cabin roofs and other horizontal areas use a cored system, usually with a fiberglass skin on either side of a foam or balsa core. The idea is to get the necessary stiffness in the flat panel without the weight & expense of s solid glass laminate. Balsa is the less expensive core material, so it's the most commonly used. It works fine, but will rot when water gets in. And water will eventually seep thru any hole or opening cut thru a cored deck, which is why you'll see so many posts about soft decks, stanchions etc etc. Read the West manual.........you won't regret buying it.
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