Ugly Find – How Do I Fix This – Thru-Hull For Seacock
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:18 am
Well, I’ve been working on the port engine, stripping the “bolt-ons†off the motor, getting ready to clean/inspect/replace stuff. One of the items I know I’m going to replace is the seacocks. Yesterday I removed the port engine seacock and what I found wasn’t pretty.
The main project thread is here:
http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... trojan+10m
Below are pictures after I removed the port engine seacock. I suspected something wasn’t right when the backing board moved freely. I expected it to be sealed/bonded to the hull. When I removed it, all of the area below it appeared to be “crystallizedâ€. I poked around with a screwdriver and it was loose and flaky. I removed what was loose and some pretty big chunks came off. What’s odd is there aren’t any visible fibers in the affected area. Below the bad layer you can still see the fiberglass woven cloth. Is this what salt water does to resin and fibers after a long period of intrusion? Is this “delaminationâ€?
So, what’s the best way to fix this? Obviously I’ll remove all the affected area and get to clean un-affected fiberglass. Should I use epoxy resin with fiberglass cloth/matt and layer it up and sand smooth? If epoxy based resin, is there a particular type that will bond better? I’m assuming the hull is polyester resin based. Any guidance greatly appreciated!



The main project thread is here:
http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... trojan+10m
Below are pictures after I removed the port engine seacock. I suspected something wasn’t right when the backing board moved freely. I expected it to be sealed/bonded to the hull. When I removed it, all of the area below it appeared to be “crystallizedâ€. I poked around with a screwdriver and it was loose and flaky. I removed what was loose and some pretty big chunks came off. What’s odd is there aren’t any visible fibers in the affected area. Below the bad layer you can still see the fiberglass woven cloth. Is this what salt water does to resin and fibers after a long period of intrusion? Is this “delaminationâ€?
So, what’s the best way to fix this? Obviously I’ll remove all the affected area and get to clean un-affected fiberglass. Should I use epoxy resin with fiberglass cloth/matt and layer it up and sand smooth? If epoxy based resin, is there a particular type that will bond better? I’m assuming the hull is polyester resin based. Any guidance greatly appreciated!


