Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
small hull patch
Last fall I drilled several small holes, about 1/4 inch, into the
hollow, sacrificial keels of my cat. I was exploring for water which has been known to get into the keels, but found none. Now I have to patch the holes. I know I have grind them out a bit, and take the paint off nearby, but I wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to the best way to seal the holes: epoxy, polyester, or something else. I think they're too small to bother with glass, but its not out of the question. BTW, one of the sisterships that did find water epoxied in air compressor nozzles so that keels could be pressurized to find the leaks, which were at the seam with the main hulls. The nozzles were then replaced with drain plugs. Since I had no intrusion, I don't need to get that fancy. |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
small hull patch
On Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:28:56 -0400, jeff wrote:
Last fall I drilled several small holes, about 1/4 inch, into the hollow, sacrificial keels of my cat. I was exploring for water which has been known to get into the keels, but found none. Now I have to patch the holes. I know I have grind them out a bit, and take the paint off nearby, but I wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to the best way to seal the holes: epoxy, polyester, or something else. I think they're too small to bother with glass, but its not out of the question. BTW, one of the sisterships that did find water epoxied in air compressor nozzles so that keels could be pressurized to find the leaks, which were at the seam with the main hulls. The nozzles were then replaced with drain plugs. Since I had no intrusion, I don't need to get that fancy. If it were my boat I would sand an area around the holes back to the glass. Then I'd countersinking each hole and fill it with epoxy resin thickened with something to make a filler. Finally I'd epoxy a patch of glass cloth over the holes. While there is no reason not to fix a polyester hull using polyester I'm a real fan of epoxy for repairs. I don't think that all this is absolutely necessary but I like belts and braces and if it is really, really fixed you can forget it. I would be pretty skeptical of pressurizing any composite structure as it takes surprising little pressure to burst something not designed as a pressure vessel. I've seen fiberglass water tank sides bulging from the weight of the water in the tank. Cheers, Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom) |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
small hull patch
"jeff" wrote: Last fall I drilled several small holes, about 1/4 inch, into the hollow, sacrificial keels of my cat. I was exploring for water which has been known to get into the keels, but found none. Now I have to patch the holes. Drill the holes to a common size that will be the same size as a pilot drill for a coarse thread sheet metal screw or a lag bolt. 3/16" pilot, #14 screw, 1/4" pilot, 5/16" lag bolt, 5/16" pilot, 3/8" lag bolt, etc. Screw the above into, then back out of the hole using the bolt like a tap to create a threaded surface in the glass hole. Blow out dust in hole or clean threads with acetone. Mix up some epoxy resin and slow hardener thickened with micro-balloons to the consistency of glazer's putty, then plug threaded holes proud. Let cure 2-3 days, then sand flush and paint to match. Have fun. Lew |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
small hull patch
On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:21:17 +0700, Bruce In Bangkok
wrote: I've seen fiberglass water tank sides bulging from the weight of the water in the tank. There was a rectangular part of a locomotive boiler, surrounding the grate. There were bolts from side to side to keep the flat sides from bulging. To digress, we took the train from NYC to Iowa, we saw a few steam locomotives derelict in yards. You would have thought they would have been scrapped, but no, just abandoned like an old car in the weeds behind a farmers barn. Casady |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
small hull patch
Lew Hodgett wrote:
"jeff" wrote: Last fall I drilled several small holes, about 1/4 inch, into the hollow, sacrificial keels of my cat. I was exploring for water which has been known to get into the keels, but found none. Now I have to patch the holes. Drill the holes to a common size that will be the same size as a pilot drill for a coarse thread sheet metal screw or a lag bolt. 3/16" pilot, #14 screw, 1/4" pilot, 5/16" lag bolt, 5/16" pilot, 3/8" lag bolt, etc. Screw the above into, then back out of the hole using the bolt like a tap to create a threaded surface in the glass hole. Blow out dust in hole or clean threads with acetone. Mix up some epoxy resin and slow hardener thickened with micro-balloons to the consistency of glazer's putty, then plug threaded holes proud. Let cure 2-3 days, then sand flush and paint to match. Have fun. Lew Thanks. I was wondering how to create a surface that mechanically hold the patch - the threading would seem to do the trick! Actually, I think my tap & die set has large enough tap to work. I'll have to see if the glass is thick enough for a coarse thread. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Gore-Tex patch kit? | General | |||
patch job | Boat Building | |||
patch job | General | |||
Small tunnel hull | Boat Building | |||
best way to patch a thru hull? | ASA |