To Vent or not to vent. That is the question.

[Seacraft84]

How do you get to the inside of the hull to put a piece of glass tape?

[KenB]

How do you get to the inside of the hull to put a piece of glass tape?

you fold it in half or roll it up. then stick it in the vent hole. then unroll it and flatten it out.

I should add that I always use those disposable medical exam gloves every time I glass/epoxy. That way you can do stuff like roll up tape, stick it complete under the epoxy and squeeze the bubbles out. Or use your fingers to get corners to lie down. When done, you can do that cool doctor trick where you take off one glove, roll it into the palm of your second hand, and then pull the second glove off, pulling it inside out over the other glove. Now all the epoxy and first glove are on the inside of the second glove. Sort of like the dog poop trick where you put your hand in a plastic bag that has NO holes, then pick up the poop, the pull the bag down over the poop, and dump the bag which now has poop in it.

Without the gloves, I think it would be pretty hard to tape the tabs in.

[Seacraft84]

You have really got me on this one

[Old'sCool]

My 23' had the vents filled when I bought it ~ 5 yrs. ago. I recently cut the holes and will install the vents. You may reach the rear without a lot of trouble but the front are inside the "channel" off the casting deck. The liner would have to be gone or cut through the liner and glass both.

[pelican]

and,how did you prep in the inside of the hull,before you "unrolled the matting" ?

[KenB]

and,how did you prep in the inside of the hull,before you "unrolled the matting" ?

Didn't do it and don't plan on doing it (based on this thread).

But I would take the sandpaper off the sander and do it by hand. I think epoxy would stick pretty well. Mine has a pretty rough surface in there, so I think you don't need to prep the inside surface of the hull too much beyond getting it clean and solvent free.

Also I suggested using 6 or 10oz cloth. Matt is probably too thick for this step.

This is my picture, but it's crappy so worth much less than 1000 words... the red part is much smaller than what I would actually use, and I am only showing one of 4 sides:

[KenB]

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the great comments. I don't think we solved anything, but I feel like I have more than enough good information all in once place to make a good decision.

For the official record, I will keep my vents.

[Seacraft84]

Gotcha chief. Makes sense now.

[shine]

on my 23 rebuild the previous owner had filled them, but did not do a grest job and the patch was printing through the paint. There was just a piece of foam core in the hole layered with a thin piece of mat.

So after Im finished with the rebuild and before I paint, i will make a real repair and blend them in. I dont think they look terrible, but personally, i do not care for them. My boat will not have a liner so i would not even be getting the perceived benefit of venting the bilge.