Tom, I just filled all the transom holes on my new (old) M-15. 'Course, I didn't have anything larger than 1/4", so I just used thickened epoxy. It's setting up as I write this. Although, I did have to use a couple of layers of glass in thickened epoxy to fix the holes where my bow cleat had compressed the deck and it had started to leak due to cracked fiberglass around the original holes. Amazing how much work this little project turned into. By the time I had eliminated all the cracked fiberglass, the 1/4" holes had become 1 1/2" holes. I also had to scrap out quite a bit of moist balsa. To redo the deck surface under the bow cleat, I... --Eliminated all the loose and cracked fiberglass, and roughed up the surounding fiberglass with a grinder. Then I mixed up a batch of really thick epoxy using fairing compound. Taped up the holes in the cabin. Then 'Smooshed' the epoxy in between the original layers of fiberglass and let it set. --Then I used my neighbors electric grinder (10,000 RPM) and a course sanding disk to grind it all down to make a slightly concave shape that would take a couple of layers of fiberglass and end up level with the surrounding area. (Grinders sure do make short work of shaping epoxy and fiberglass. But, I managed to clip my finger with the edge of the sanding disk and it sure bled like a sonabitch...be careful) Then, I mixed up some thickened epoxy to the consistancy of mayonaise, laid it on, and put a couple of glass in between layers of epoxy. Then I compressed the whole repair under a piece of plastic that I cut out of a big square gallon water bottle. When the epoxy set, I peeled the plastic away and I had very little sanding to do. It was nice and flat. --After masking the repaired area, I put one more layer of thickened epoxy down so I could fill a few holes and give the whole thing a bit of a raised edge relief so it would look as if came out of the mold that way. --Finish sanded and painted with two part polyurethane--cream color. If I were repairing any hole over 3/8", I'd probably put a single layer of glass over the repair. But that's only because I'm obssessive. The hardest part would be to grind down the glass around the hole to accomodate a single layer of glass. --Bob Olson M-15 #219 Tom Smith wrote:
I've removed all the existing hardware from the unnamed M17's transom. The ladder was useless, I'm not sold on the motor mount, and the gudgeons are going to be upgraded. I've left with a few holes to fill. I have a couple half inch holes, maybe a dozen 3/8, and a few smaller ones.
I would appreciate suggestions on how to fill these in preparation for repainting the topsides and new hardware installation. Is filling thickened epoxy enough? Should I go through grinding a bevel and filling with layers of glass? Chewing gum? Thanks. t
Tom Smith & Jane VanWinkle M15/345--Chukar M17/064--Unamed
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