I am looking for some product suggestions for filling some small screw holes in the hull of a boat I am restoring. The previous owner had mounted something....no clue what...with several small wood screws (NOT EVEN STAINLESS!) in the transom. I want to remove the screws, allow the core to dry and fill the holes, but am not sure what product to use. Some of the holes are above the waterline (6) and several are below the waterline (4).
Any suggestions....would prefer something that is white to match the gelcoat, but anything is better than a rusting screw.
Filling minor holes in hull?
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Chris Reinke
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S/V Necessity
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Filling holes in hull...
Well nobody else has touched this one, so I'll give it a shot 
First off If you have wet core material below the waterline, I dont think it will EVER dry out though the screw hole. And if you have wet core material, you really do need to do something about it, it will only get worse. It'll get wet and soggy and start rotting, and spread like cancer... If you are lucky enough to catch it early it behooves you to address it asap.
As far as what to fill the holes with... There are some white marine epoxy's out there, if you are happy with the match I would reccomend that. If you want a better match you could paint the filled area with tinted paint or gelcoat. If you want to use gelcoat dont make the repair with epoxy, make sure you use something with a polyester resin base.
To make a good repair I would fill the hole in question flush. After the fill material has hardened I would take a dremel tool and just barely remove some of the filler material untill it's a VERY slight indentation. You might be able to acomplish this with your thumb and some 220 grit paper.
I would then start filling this indentation with the chosen paint or gelcoat. Apply enough coats to make the area ever so slightly higher than the surrounding. Let it dry well and sand it with a high grit paper (probably 500 grit) and a dead flat block. Might follow that with a few passes of even higher grit papers and some polishing compound. You will have to be willing to experiment to get the area to "blend in"
First off If you have wet core material below the waterline, I dont think it will EVER dry out though the screw hole. And if you have wet core material, you really do need to do something about it, it will only get worse. It'll get wet and soggy and start rotting, and spread like cancer... If you are lucky enough to catch it early it behooves you to address it asap.
As far as what to fill the holes with... There are some white marine epoxy's out there, if you are happy with the match I would reccomend that. If you want a better match you could paint the filled area with tinted paint or gelcoat. If you want to use gelcoat dont make the repair with epoxy, make sure you use something with a polyester resin base.
To make a good repair I would fill the hole in question flush. After the fill material has hardened I would take a dremel tool and just barely remove some of the filler material untill it's a VERY slight indentation. You might be able to acomplish this with your thumb and some 220 grit paper.
I would then start filling this indentation with the chosen paint or gelcoat. Apply enough coats to make the area ever so slightly higher than the surrounding. Let it dry well and sand it with a high grit paper (probably 500 grit) and a dead flat block. Might follow that with a few passes of even higher grit papers and some polishing compound. You will have to be willing to experiment to get the area to "blend in"
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Wayne Grenier
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