Hi Chris, There is another fairly easy fix for your problem if the screw
holes in the removable portion of the sole are around 1/4" in diameter. You
have to be competent with epoxy though. (Good thing though is it's easy to
be competent with epoxy.) This is one of those projects that takes a few
minutes of work but probably a whole day of waiting for the epoxy to set.
Work on other projects in the mean time.
First thing you need to do is fill the holes in the part of the cockpit that
the sole bolts down on. This is a tiny bit complicated as you are going to
want good adhesion.
Step 1. Run a slightly oversize drill bit through the holes in the flange to
clean out any junk that has worked its way down into them.
Step 2. Use a piece of sandpaper to rough up the fiberglas surrounding the
area around the bottom of the hole.
Step 3. Mix a small amount of epoxy and "paint" the area you roughed up.
Allow it set until it gets tacky.
Step 4. Take a piece of tape and cover the bottom of each hole. The tacky
epoxy will assure good adhesion.
Step 5. After the epoxy has set for abit mix a very small amount and put a
few drops in each hole. Just enough to cover the tape. Wait for it to set.
(Epoxy heats up as it sets, the more epoxy you use the faster and hotter it
heats. As it heats, the glue on the tape gets soft, the tape will fall off
and the epoxy will flow out of the hole and drip on to anything below the
hole. By using just a few drops to cover the tape you avoid this. For larger
holes fill it in stages. If there is to much epoxy as it heats it comes to a
boil and will foam out of the hole.)
Step 6. Mix a bit more epoxy, enough to fill the holes. Add some colloidal
silica to thicken it, (WEST systems #406) add just enough to thicken it to
the point where it can still flow. To much and it becomes like putty, good
for fillets but not for this project. Fill the holes to the top (these are
small holes, it won't foam). Allow it to set. If it is over the top of the
hole you are going to have to sand it flush after it has set. There is a
point while it is setting that it is firm enough that it can be cut with a
knife though. if you can dent it with firm pressure you can cut it. After it
has set you won't be able to. Experiment with it.
(another note: Epoxy "blushs" after it sets. Chemicals come to the surface
which prevent good adhesion. If you wet a piece of cloth with epoxy and let
it set the surface will have blushed. Wet another piece of cloth and allow
it to set on top of the first one. After it has set the two pieces can be
pulled apart easily. The blush prevented a good bond. Bonding is mechanical
or chemical. Above is an example of a poor mechanical bond. If you had
sanded the blush off before you had applied the second piece of cloth you
would have had a good mechanical bond.
If you had applied the second piece of cloth to the first one before it had
set you would have had an even stronger chemical bond.)
Step 7. After the filled holes have had time to completly cure align the
sole over them. Drill through the existing hole in one corner with a 1/4"
bit through your previously filled hole. Put a 1/4" machine screw through
the hole. Go to the opposite corner, recheck the alignment and repeat the
process. Drop another screw through the hole. The two screws will now
prevent the sole from shifting as you drill the remaining holes. Be as
accurate as you can and make sure the holes are straight up and down. It's
not a bad idea to drop a screw in each hole after you drill it.
Step 8. Remove the sole and you now have places to attach fasteners to the
bottom. The 1/4" holes are not large enough though and will have to be
drilled out to 5/16". You have to be accurate here and I recomend you do
this in steps. Use a 9/32" bit on each hole first, then go to a 5/16". Don't
use a pilot point bit. Regular hi-speed bits are fine.
Step 9. Tee nuts are what you install next. West Marine among others carries
them in their hardware section. A tee nut looks like a grommet with a piece
of tubing sticking out on one side. The inside of the tubing is threaded.
The flared portion has three slots cut into it with the area outside of the
slot bent down 90 degrees to form little tabs. These are designed for
bolting wood. To use them the tubing is inserted into a hole. A machine
screw is put into the other side and tightened. As it tightens the bent down
tabs dig into the wood and prevent it from turning. You want 1/4" NC
(national coarse) nuts. The outside diameter for the tubing on these is
5/16" (#10 is 1/4", 5/16" is 3/8" and I think 3/8" is 9/16" ODs). Break off,
cut off or grind off the little tabs as they won't bite into the fiberglas.
Use a file of grinder to roughen the outside of the treaded tube and the
ajoining area of the flange. Remove the tape and roughen the glass again to
get rid of the blush.
Step 10. Figure out what kind of machine screws you are going to use to
secure the sole with. I used oval head phillips 1/4 X 1 1/2 NC. You are
going to need to coat the threads with a lubricant: wax, soap or vaseline
will do. Remove the lubricant leaving a thin film on the threads. Mix a bit
more epoxy and colloidal silica and apply some to the roughened area of the
tee nuts. Insert a nut into a hole from the bottom and a screw into the hole
from the top, tighten until it is just snug and let it set.
Step 11. Remove the screws and apply a closed cell foam gasket to the glas.
Run a 3/16" bit from underneath and inside the tee nuts to perforate the
gasket.
Step 12. Screw down the sole.
Step 13. Cast off dock lines and go sailing.
P.S. An electric screwdriver should be in your onboard tools kit, keep it
handy as you may have to quickly remove the sole at some point in the
future. Become familiar with your packing gland, know how to service it and
have spare packing precut and handy. After we put Lyric back in the water
after six months on the hard we had an impressive amount of water coming in.
West Marine sells an adjustable packing nut wrench that I reccomend. But
replace the screw and nut that comes with it. They are not stainless and
will rust. Ours did and Judy was running all over the place trying to find
one that would adjust while I tried to slow the water coming into the boat!
Hope this is helpful. Walt, Lyric S/V 120
