Deck Drain Frustrations!

[kitebuz]

Why is it no job is ever as simple as it seems...

You may already be planning this, but the rule of thumb in filling holes is to grind back and glass over an area in a 12:1 ratio to your hull thickness - if your hull is 1" thick, then grind back a 12" diameter surface, and feather it for how many layers of glass you plan to use.

Granted you are really only reducing the diameter of your hole vs permanently covering it. You might want to use a few layers of glass over it & feather out some where the 1st layer or two is bonding to straight fiberglass, not gelcoat. What did you use to thicken the epoxy?

[TunaMeltdown]

I used the west systems #404 filler. That is what they (people at West Marine) recomended.

[wtenglish]

I've had good luck using painters tape to assist in filling holes. It seems to hold pretty good.

[Seacraft84]

I second the last two post. Painters tape and grind the hole down to the glass. Removing the gelcoat. Cut small squares or cicles, however you grind it out, and make them bigger untils it over laps the gelcoat and then sand smooth. Usually about 4-6 layers depending how deep you grind it out.

[kitebuz]

404 is good filler to use w/ what you're doing, & what SC84 describes is on the money.

Here is a your almost exact scenario explained on West's how-to site:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/repairi...in-fiberglass/

Scroll down to the "Zone 3 - high risk" section. Instead of making a puck in a paper cup, you kinda just made it in place, which will work fine. Just need to grind it back some now to give yourself a clean surface for a few layers of glass.

Have you checked out how Strick (& others) mounted his seacock to a glassed over plywoood plate?

[pelican]

After giving it much thought and wanting the most permenant fix in the long run I have decided to completely fill in the 1.25" existing drain area with West systems. I am going to sand down the fiberglass a little bit on both the hull and deck and glass in a small patch thus bonding the epoxy plug to the glass on the deck and the hull. When dry I will drill new 1" holes and procede to install the moeller drain tubes I had bought.

this is what i would do...

grind the whole area out-you need to "dish" the area around the thru hull-inside and outside,use a dremel with a drum sander bit to clean the inside of the hole...after the area is clean-run tape over the outside-fill the hole with the mix,let it kick...after it's fully kicked-clean it-gotta remove the amine blush from west system...grind it down,glass the areas you ground out-slightly higher than the surrounding surface-let it all kick...after it kicks,clean it and grind it down-punch the hole right thru the epoxy-you will be able to see the hole you filled...at this point,the hole is thru the epoxy-epoxy is waterproof,unlike polyester based resins-no need for a drain tube-clean the area up,if needed,and besure the "rubber plug" will fit in the hole...done...

the repair,done in this manner,is actually stronger than the original build-epoxy is a stronger,waterproof resin.the areas are glassed with a matting,not a filler,the "hole",is integral with the hull...a true repair...

these are the drain tubes in the bow area,right ?

i do drains thru a cored surface,like a transom a little different than this,but basically the same...

using plywood for a back up block-like for an engine seacock-isn't a bad idead,but...i like starboard-i make the hole in the hull and the starboard-i like seeing the starboard round-i even run it on the router...after the thru hull is in,i seal the inner area of the hull in 3m 5200,slide the back up block in place,followed by the nut...tighten it all down...done...the back up block will last forever,the 5200 will seal it all...

there's more than one way to "skin a cat",that's just how i do it...

a few tips...

filling holes-you don't want the epoxy mix too thick,use some tape around the hole on the inside-to hold the mix in place-west system-before it kicks,it gets very runny-due to heat...use a popsicle stick to move the mix around in the hole-air will get trapped in the hole-if left that way,the "plug" will have a void in it-doing this will get the air out...be sure the "plug",the plug being the epoxy filling the hole is ground even to match the surrounding area,before glassing it,if not,you're gonna have a void...try to keep the area round,cut the glass in circles -to match the area you dished out...remember,nothing sticks to antifouling paint-be sure there's no contamination from the antifouling paint...