Filling Screw Holes in Transom

M

mastersp

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Joined
Jun 19, 2002
RO Number
9057
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56
Due to purchase of a new Fishfinder I am replacing my transducer bracket with a different model and will not be able to re-use all of the same screw holes in the transom.

What is the best material to fill the old holes with - I was thinking Marine-Tex epoxy?
 
Marine Tex was my first choice. Get some touch up gelcoat to go over if you like.
 
I just did this last weekend. Filled about 10 holes where the PO just left screws and just put some silicone around them.

I found 2 main method in my search.
1) Marine-Tex
2) The putty epoxy where you just roll it in your hands to mix it up and activate it.

I wanted to go Marine-Tex but you really want temps in the 70's for it to setup correctly so went with the epoxy instead since we are stuck in the 40's still.

Drilled out the old holes first slighlty larger. Wanted to make sure all of the silicone was out. Also wanted to make sure I didn't have any water intrusion aleady. 1 or 2 holes had some slightly darker wood, but no noticeable wetness (whew!).

Next rolled up the epoxy into small snakelike strips. Pushed into the hole as far as it would go then squashed it in good with the back of a drill bit. Kept doing this until the hole was completely filled.

Seemed to fill the hole nicely.

I still want to sand and do a layer of marine tex over the outside before covering with bottom paint. Hoping it warms up enough before launch date in just over a week.
 
Camman:

Thanks for the tip on the roll-up putty - do you recall the name of the product?

Thanks
 
Originally posted by mastersp

Camman:

Thanks for the tip on the roll-up putty - do you recall the name of the product?

Thanks
---------------------------

You can find it at any auto store, usually at the sales counter or where blister pack stuff is. The one I used looks like two short cigars, comes packaged a lot different ways.
Click to expand...
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

I would bevel the edges of the holes a bit before filling.

Click to expand...


Agreed, i ran a large drill bit in reverse to bevel the edges without chipping the gelcoat.

I cant remember the name but it came in a clear plastic tube about 6 - 8 in long. Auto, marine or hardware store should have it. Its used for all kinds of repairs.
 
Aluminox comes to mind and I think Evercoat makes one. I've got to do the same thing this week and its too cold for Marine tex so I think the epoxy stick is the way to go.
 
Went back to the boat today and sanded down the holes I filled last week. I planned on covering with marine tex but they came out so good that ill just cover them with bottom paint before launch.

Found 2 more holes that were just filled with silicone. The pic below shows those holes prepped and the completed holes below them ready for bottom paint.

2011-03-27_12-08-33_986.jpg
 
Wow, that looks really good. I did something similar. After I drilled out the holes, I cut wood dowels slightly shorter than the length of the hole. I coated the dowel with 5200 and hammered in with a nail set slightly deeper than the dransom. After the 5200 cured I put Marine Tex on to fill the gap and sanded flush with the transom.
 
Thanks. Super easy fix too. I let these go last year because I thought it was going to be some difficult task. In reality each hole is less then a few minutes work total (minus curing time).
 
I have a couple to do as well I'm adding/replacing two swimplatform brackets and I don't expect the new holes to line up.
 
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