Non Uniform Hole in Deck

[CTsalt12]

Ok so I have one hole in my deck that causes me to lose sleep at night.  It was for the swingback seat, and seems like a few holes were drilled too close and they pulled through or rotted or something, becoming one triangular ish hole about a 3/4 inch wide.  I filled it with silicone as a temporary fix last season a few different times, but this is just no bueno.  
So, how do I put the issue to rest?  I know I have to drill it out so there's only dry wood core first.  I know epoxy is the standard go to, and that people usually dremel out an indentation in the floor and fill from there, then put fiberglass down over the indent or whatever.    (See below link. this is a great resource BTW).  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zka0i0SOGd8

How should I handle this?  I was thinking of using this marine tex type stuff I've used for some holes in the console.  It would be easy to sand flat.  Appearance is not an issue, it will be covered by the cooler seat and it's a fishing boat.  I'm thinking epoxy will drip all the way through the hole.  I just want it bone dry so I don't have to worry about rot.  Please advise.

[CLM65]

Here is what I would do...note that I have not tried this, so it is just  a thought.  I would enlarge the hole to get to good material.  Then I would insert a stick through the hole - the stick would just barely fit in the hole, be long enough to span the hole, and have a string through the middle.  There would be adhesive on the stick so that it could be glued to the underside of your floor by pulling up on the string.  This would provide the backing so that you could proceed as shown in the video.

Good video btw.  Thanks for posting the link.

[pete]

Cut the hole to match the size of a hardwood dowel.Coat with resin,plug the hole,leaving some room to build up with glass. Or cut it out to fit in a small pie plate.

[flounderpounder225]

Or cut it out to fit in a small pie plate. [/quote]

X2 on the pie plate

[CTsalt12]

Are you guys serious about the pie plate?  Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill.  I'm talking about a 3/4 inch hole here. The whole point of the post is that I don't want to deal with glassing, I just want to protect integrity of the floor.  The dowel and resin idea seems to make sense, although like I said it's not a round hole.  

Is there any other way to handle this?  What about formula 27?  Will this adequately keep moisture out?

[gran398]

Are you guys serious about the pie plate?  Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill.  I'm talking about a 3/4 inch hole here. The whole point of the post is that I don't want to deal with glassing, I just want to protect integrity of the floor.  The dowel and resin idea seems to make sense, although like I said it's not a round hole.  

Is there any other way to handle this?  What about formula 27?  Will this adequately keep moisture out?

Any way you slice it you want to get to solid ply first. Do some exploratory with increasing size drill bits till you hit good wood....then we'll attack the repair

[pete]

Lots of ways to fix.Drill a hole large enough to get to solid woodCoat the raw wood with some kind of resin/epoxy,use something,wood,filler,cut a plywood plug using a hole saw,glass over the top.Next project.....

[dburr]

Are you guys serious about the pie plate?  Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill.  I'm talking about a 3/4 inch hole here. The whole point of the post is that I don't want to deal with glassing, I just want to protect integrity of the floor.  The dowel and resin idea seems to make sense, although like I said it's not a round hole.  

Is there any other way to handle this?  What about formula 27?  Will this adequately keep moisture out?

A 4" pie plate is about $11 at a local marine supply place here, a tube of 4200 is $17.  A relatively cheap fix.. The key Jimbo is that you are worrying about it.  Goobing with silicone is not a permenat fix as you know and the full extent of the repair with ways of accomplishing it will not be known until you do a little exploritory surgery. If the wood is damp it can be dried using acetone and heat (not together of course), then stuff can get sealed up.  

Do a little digging around the hole, post a picture with something in it for a size reference and then we can be more help..

Best of luck!

Edit: interesting way of spelling permanent...

[gran398]

Along the line of Dave's thinking, filling wet wood only makes the rot spread faster. Holds water, keeps the wet in. Cut it out, get it gone...the rest is no biggee

[flounderpounder225]

At this point it sounds that we are talking about ascetics, because it is bugging you? You can go in any direction, but for perfection in appearance glass and gelcoat takes an experienced hand.  Nobody I ever knew or has been on any boat I ever owned asked me "what is that access hatch for?" their just part of the landscape of a boat.  Is it the easy way to a solution..... Yep

[CTsalt12]

Aesthetics is most definitely not the issue.  I just thought that turning a 3/4 inch hole into a 4 inch pie plate seems kinda silly and there must be a better solution.  Additionally, a pie plate does not work here because I need the space for other holes for screwing my swingback seat down.  

I'll drill out the wet wood and go from there.

[CTsalt12]

Ok so I did some exploring to see just what kind of condition the wood core is.  Of course it is soft and rotting, but I was surprised to find out the worst hole is the one in the bottom of the picture.  At this point the rot is probably widespread enough that a little pie plate makes sense.  I can possibly screw my seat down to the plate anyway.  What am I going to find under this floor when I cut it out?  This spot is just the south east of the fuel tank.  Also what should I use to coat the core around the deck plate so that wood Isnt compromised?

Additionally, I took off a pie plate just south of my console, which I had an Incling needed to be replaced, and found the wood was so wet there it had frost.  I guess I should cut out a larger pie plate
There to get rid of that wood too.  I'm assuming the wood wasn't properly sealed when that pie plate was put in.  Oh the joys of owning an older boat.  At least I nipped it in the bud an the floor isn't soft yet.

[pete]

Depending on how big the area is you may want to consider putting in a hatch in the floor and creating some storage space,luck bro!  

[icemanbryan]

Aesthetics is most definitely not the issue.  I just thought that turning a 3/4 inch hole into a 4 inch pie plate seems kinda silly and there must be a better solution.  Additionally, a pie plate does not work here because I need the space for other holes for screwing my swingback seat down.  

I'll drill out the wet wood and go from there.

A 3/4 inch hole could be a 4 "pie plate very easy.
Like the experts say, drill and see how far out the rot or damage is,
then decide.

[wingtime]

I think what the guys are trying to say is in order to avoid major cosmetic repairs a pie plate is a simple cost effective fix.  If this was/is a mounting hole for your swing back cooler I'd repair the hole and remount the cooler.  I'd go about it like they did in the video.  Grind back and taper the hole a bit.  Then mix up some epoxy with chopped up glass fibers that you can make my cutting up some mat into small bits with scissors.  I've done this plenty of times on wallowed out screw holes and been able to mount a screw right back in the repair.  You have to use epoxy though if you plan on doing that.  Poly just isn't strong enough.