Repair of Topside Holes

[o8er]

Q1: can soft areas in the deck {of an unidentified boat] be repaired by drilling multiple holes of 1/2-inch diameter into the soft areas, then using a fan [to promote drying of any moisture in the exposed area of the holes], then using an Allen wrench [as a drill to remove foam from below the deck laminate, and then refilling now void area below the deck with a mixture of Cabosil and epoxy resin?

BACKSTORY

To clean and to make repairs to the topside [of an unidentified boat] everything was taken off [the unidentified boat]. Two smalls areas of soft deck were noticed.

I placed Q-Tips inside [some of the topside holes in the areas of the deck that were soft], as seen below in FIgure 1.

Fig. 1. The deck of an unidentified boat with Q-Tips inserted into holes for screw fasteners.

20240504_104333.jpg (55.85 KiB) Viewed 117 times

When I removed the Q-Tips, the Q-Tips came out with bad wood [attached to them] and wet with water.

In case of a rain shower, I decided to plug [with Q-Tips] all the [topside] holes--and to keep Johnson & Johnson in business. I estimated there were 50 to 60 holes to be plugged, but when I counted the actual number of holes there were 118 holes in the topsides.

[I have read many] posts about cutting out the soft spots, re-foaming and [re-laminating the deck], but I am NOT [ready to make a repair like that] now.

I just want to get [the unidentified boat] in the water in the 2024 boating season. I will save the full restoration for a winter project.

ASIDE: [I have] read and learned a lot about hole repair on this forum from those who take the time to teach others.

[jimh]

Q1: can soft areas in the deck {of an unidentified boat] be repaired by drilling multiple holes of 1/2-inch diameter into the soft areas, then using a fan [to promote drying of any moisture in the exposed area of the holes], then using an Allen wrench [as a drill to remove foam from below the deck laminate], and then refilling the [now void area below the deck] with a mixture of Cabosil and epoxy resin?

While not completely clear in your narrative, I infer that this method is the method for permanent repair of the soft area of the deck. My remarks that follow are in that perspective.

The problem with the proposed method is the result will be many areas of the deck with a circular area of exposed epoxy resin and Cabosil filler mixture. Generally epoxy resin when exposed to UV light (from sunlight) will change color and begin to yellow. Whatever initial color the epoxy resin cured to will begin to shift to a more yellow color. This color change will eventually make the circular repair areas very visible.

Also, if there is a non-skid pattern molded into the deck in any of these soft areas, the presence of a large number of circular repair areas will be very visible.

Other than these visual drawbacks, the proposed method may create localized hard spots in the deck which may promote further damage to the deck. A better approach may be to fill the voids with foam, then remove the foam to a depth about 3/16-inch of an inch below the deck top surface, then use a gel coat [with suitable additives to permit the gel coat resin to cure to a hard surface when exposed to air] to replace the deck surface in those areas. If you don't might an eventual shift in color, you could used epoxy resin as the top cap to fill the holes back to the deck surface level.

One problem that will occur: sanding the repair areas to be flush with the deck need to be done very carefully, as well-cured epoxy resin will be harder to remove than the old gel coat resin (in the unidentified hull of unknown age), which tents to more rapidly removed by any abrasion than epoxy.

[jimh]

If you want to make a temporary repair to the holes, you can just cover the holes with vinyl electrical tape. I recommend using 3M 35 White Vinyl Electrical Tape as a method of temporarily covering a small hole such as the hole from a screw fastener that will eventually be more permanently repaired.

You can typically buy 3M 35 Vinyl Electrical Tape at any store that sells electrical parts, such as Home Depot:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotch-0-75-in-x-66-ft-x-7-mil-35-Electrical-Tape-White-10828-DL-2W/304653652

When using 3M 35 Vinyl Electrical tape, try not to stretch the tape as you are pulling the tape off the spool. Remove the tape from the spool gently so it remains at its original length. If you stretch the tape when you apply the tape as a single layer to a flat surface, the stretched tape will try to creep back to its original length over time. Stretching the tape works if you are wrapping the tape around a circular object and applying several turns of tape, but stretched tape in a short length on a flat surface will not make a good seal, as it will tend to contract back to its original length.