Filling extra bolt holes in Transom

[wingtime]

Any ideas on filling up extra bolts holes in a transom from a previous engine?  I don't like the idea of just filling them up with 5200.   I was thinking of mixing up a thick batch of resin and flox and using that to fill them.  Any ideas or suggestions?

[No Class]

West System! Available at West Marine(no relation) West is an epoxy resin with several compatible fillers. Some are soft for sanding & others are hard for structural work. I would recommend Microfibers  # 403. The pump system for the epoxy & hardener makes the mix idiot proof. A good place to start with your mix is one part fibers for each pump stroke of resin. The mix begins to set in about one hour(depending on temperature) & is rock hard & ready for sanding overnight.

[wingtime]

Thanks!  I'm familiar with West systems epoxy.  Good stuff.  I actually picked up some MAS epoxy, resin and micro fibers.   I like the fact that it has no amamine blush when it cures.

[RebelYell]

Thanks!  I'm familiar with West systems epoxy.  Good stuff.  I actually picked up some MAS epoxy, resin and micro fibers.   I like the fact that it has no amamine blush when it cures.

Lots of the epoxies have amine blush when they cure. It can be washed away with soap and water. This is the case with Marine Tex.

I Marine Tex everything small; but some of the other epoxies probably work better. I'll tell you though; if you mix Marine Tex just right and give it a few days to cure it dries freakin' hard. I like Marine Tex because you can do a water clean up before it cures if you get it on anything. You can also "sponge out" any imperfections before it sets.

I have filled several dime/quarter sized holes above the waterline, on the cap, etc. by taking steel wool and embedding Marine Tex in the wool to give it a "filler" and plugged the holes with it. It has worked well for me in a pinch and held up fantastic.

I would go with West System if I wanted to do it absolutely "right" however. I have had misgivings about using steel wool as a filler with Marine Tex.....but it does seem to work well... :jocolor:

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[Mad Dog]

Thanks!  I'm familiar with West systems epoxy.  Good stuff.  I actually picked up some MAS epoxy, resin and micro fibers.   I like the fact that it has no amamine blush when it cures.

You have everything you need to fill those holes.  Mix the epoxy, add enough micro fibers for a peanut butter consistency.  Work it into the holes from one side, until starts oozing out the other side.  Let it cure.  Then finish it off to match your gelcoat.  All done!  

MD  

[wingtime]

Wood plugs?  After some searching online I found some suggestions to make some wooden plugs using a plug cutter.  Then epoxy the plugs in leaving about a 1/4" space for a gel coat patch.  The reason being the wood plugs with a sideways grain will compress the same as the plywood core so the repair won't pop out at a later date.

Maybe a combination of the epoxy/micro fibers and wooden plugs is a good way to go.

[flkeysaqua]

The way I went was just that went to The Home Depot picked up a 4 foot hardwood dowel I believe it was white oak cut it to size flush with the wood core of the transom and soaked them in resin then hammered them in.  Once they set up I used a large countersink bit to round out the glass around the dowel making sure not to go to far and not to hit the dowels. Then I cleaned and prepped the surface and laid 2 layers of a combination of short and long hair with resin to get the surface flush.  Once that was done I ground a 2X2 patches out around the hole and laid 2 layers of glass over the top making sure to overlap the second piece by at least 3/4 of an inch.  Sanded, faired and painted.

[wingtime]

Wow that looks really nice.    I only have six holes to fill in.  But since they are in the motor mount area I'm worried about near by bolts squeezing the transom and popping out dowels.  I think this could happen since they will not compress the same as the wood core since the grain is running the other direction.  I bought a set of wood plug cutters at Home Depot for $14 bucks.  I played around last night cutting some practice plugs out of some pine.  I found I could squeeze the plugs between my fingers and they had some slight end to end give to them.