Filling Seacock Holes

[rickal4884]

Would someone please give me an idea how to fill the holes left by the removal of the seacocks used for the head and sink drain? Is a simple plug of polyester resin sufficient?

[Popeye1865]

the best way is to grind inside/out (large taper) and apply layers of glass ( i prefer epoxy not any ester) to build up to original hull thickness. there are many other ways to accomplish this but anything short of scarfing and re-glassing is a compromise in my opinion.

[Oscar]

What he said.

[Idon84]

Seconded!

Grind a bevel then multiple round pieces of cloth (I use 1708 Biax) to build up thickness again from the inside. Fill and fair the outside once done. I only use epoxy for my repairs. Good Luck!, but it's not all that difficult.

[Idon84]

Here is a quick pic. You can see the multiple layers of round cloth in successive layers. On this one I started with 10" then an 8" then 6" etc... Not shown is the final layer which was square & bigger than the whole repair by about 4" all the way around.

[bcooke]

The makers of West System put out some pretty good 'How-To' pamphlets.

You can get what you need here (Chapter 4 covers your specific situation) or you can buy the pamphlet at West Marine and other places for around $3.

Highly recommended. Nice pictures. Good information from the people that actually make the stuff rather than the half-baked, hairbrained, hallucinations and fantasies that abound around boatyards and internet forums. ;-)

West puts out some real books too that are great if you are so inclined.

Don Casey's Good Old Boat has some nice pictures too if I remember correctly.

Oh, and the free online pamphlet spells out the same methods the others have just described in the preceeding posts.

Is a simple plug of polyester resin sufficient?

No.

Polyester resin = poor mechanical bonding when compared to epoxy, shrinkage as it cures (up to 8%), poor moisture barrier, less durable than epoxy = never a good choice for repair work.

Somehow I always get in trouble when I bring these facts up though...

[Peter]

As long as you have access, my personal preference is to grind a taper on both sides of the hole. This allows for a smaller tapered area, and creates a flange on both sides of the hole, imho a neater and stronger fix with less damage to the surrounding area.

West Systems website has an informative how-to article on this very subject. I used the method described in "Example 8" to plug my old transducer and thru hull holes.
Hope this helps!

[The Froon]

Check out my latest blog entry as I just completed this very job - my first attempt at filling old through-hulls. I am going to lay down a couple 6oz layers on the inside as well...

Brian