Patching old trolling motor holes, etc

[Dazed66]

Looking for some tips on patching some old trolling motor mounting holes in the bow and a couple holes on the console where depth finder wires were run at one time.

My first idea was maybe tape the underside and fill with an epoxy/wood flour mix then top with gel coat. Pretty new to this kind of thing so any other ideas would be welcome.
This forum has been a wealth of ideas and information and some of the work I've seen you guys do just amazes me.

[ranger230v]

My understanding is once you ues epoxy somewhere, you cant use polyester products over it cause they wont adhere. For intstance, I dont think you can put gelcoat over epoxy. Hopefully Basscat7 will respond. He'll steer you in the right direction. I don't think you need epoxy on something like this.

[foxman623]

I think you could use resin for fiberglass and then you could gel over that.

[BASSCAT7]

[quote=Dazed66]My first idea was maybe tape the underside and fill with an epoxy/wood flour mix then top with gel coat. Pretty new to this kind of thing so any other ideas would be welcome.
quote]


Gelcoat in small patches will work on top of epoxy resin. The problem with gel over epoxy is making sure the epoxy is fully cured. When epoxy cures, it has a coating that migrates to the surface called " Amine Blush."
It is a waxy type coating that needs to be removed by wahing with soapy water, then lightly sanding the cleaned patch.

You can cut some wood dowel rods slightly larger than the hole and tap them into the hole leaving 1/4 or so to lay in some gelcoat.
You could use standard polyester laminating resin, mix some pure talc powder in to thicken and then gel on top.

[Dazed66]

I'll get some pictures posted of the spots I want to patch up before I finalize my repair plan.

[Dazed66]

Ok here is what I am trying to patch

Front deck from a trolling motor mount back when the boat was new



This is on the console from the original graph mounting hole is about 1" in diameter




last are the few nicks here and there amazingly these are all there are


from a trolling motor head hitting the hull


My plan on the nicks is to use a gel coat repair kit and mix in some flake possibly to try and match as best I can.

[BASSCAT7]

For the 1" holes I would use a wood dowel slightly larger than the hole, cut a piece so you can tap it in the in the hole and leave about 1/4 " below the top cap to put gelcoat in.
Cut it so the bottom of the plug is about even with the bottom of the cap. Coat the plug with resin or gelcoat and tap it in . Fill with gel to slightly over the top to allow for shrinkage.

[ChampioNman]

For the TM holes go to Lowe's and get the correct size either rubber stoppers or plastic hole plugs or use wood dowels like on the console. Another option on the console would be to cut a piece of paneling type wood to size and then stain it the color of choice and then use the clear type finish they use on table tops.

[Dazed66]

Thanks for the input guys pretty sure I am going the dowel route, seems the more solid fix. Now when i do the gel can I do a layer of colored the top with a layer of clear gel?