To Glass or Not To Glass?

[Blues Cat]

The wood backing the raw water intake thru hulls is saturated. I plan to have the wood replaced and I'd like to know if the new wood should be glassed in or left open to the air (as it is now)?

 

[Robyns Nest]

I would either seal it with west epoxy, or a good bilge coat paint. The paint will be more flexible than the epoxy. If sealed properly you shouldn't have this problem down the road.

Make sure you paint/seal the entire piece thoroughly and inside the hole too. A few coats of the paint should work well.

Fiberglassing is overkill IMHO.

 

[Ghost]

Do not leave it open. This is one case where instead of just encapsulating it, you want to saturate it. The best product for this is going to be CPES from Smith's or Rot Doctor. Saturate it, then encapsulate with a normal epoxy. It will then last the life of the boat.

 

[navman]

I have starboard for back plate on my last thru hull replacement, just another option.

 

[RamSport47]

I was going to suggest starboard as well. We use it here without any problems. For plastic (high speed) transducers, it is actually the best material as it doesn't swell, and should work fine with bronze thru hulls

 

[PascalG]

get rid of the wood there and use starboard.

 

[Blues Cat]

I like the idea of Starboard but have heard that many sealers don't adhear to it. Which adhesive will I need to use? What preparation to the surfaces do I need to make?

 

[Ironworks]

StarBoard?

BoatLIFE® LifeCaulk® works well to replace old or worn caulking. Before caulking, the surface should be prepared by abrading it with medium-grit sandpaper, then cleaning it with acetone, toluene or alcohol This was from the mfg.site. Hope it helps.

 

[rduhon]

The boat yard where we keep our boat uses a black stranded looking
synthetic board. I don't know what it is called and I am back at work
right now, I won't be home for another week and a half. They use it
for backing on all thru hulls.