fiberglass repair

[nitro93]

I was told to repost this over here in hopes of more responses...thanks in advance!!

"The front of my boat is beginning to look like swiss cheese wit hthe install of several different trolling motors and locations...what is my best choice to repair this area? do I just put some fiberglass in the holes and fill it in...then redrill and locate as needed? ...or is it a better repair if I grind down the ares...."vee" it out as they say and then put in some matting? ...do I need to put anything on the back side for reinforcement?
thanks for any help you can give me...I am just learning the Fiberglass needs of an older Bass boat... "

Matt G

[BASSCAT7]

How many holes are you talking about ?

If only a few, you can cut some wood dowling that is a shade larger than the holes, sand them so they have to be tapped into the holes, tap them down and leave enough space to fill with matching gelcoat or Marine -Tex.

If you have room and can access the area from the inside you can get an aluminum plate cut to fit the spot and screw or glass it into place to strengthen the mounting area for your trolling motor.

[nitro93]

there are quite a few I would say 12-14... I have some access to the back but I don't know if I can get a large enough plate to work ...I plan on trying to though.!

[northrivergeek]

Dowels with marine-tex is easiest, but if the holes are close together and you plan on either painting the boat or spraying gel coat back over those holes .. then dish out the area with grinder ( dont go to deep ) , and use 3 - 4 layers of glass 1.5oz glass mat in a oval shape each layer 1/2 - 1 inch narrower than the first.

Put it the smallest piece first then the largest dont worry about the new glass being higher than the original , you will need to sand it all smooth and spread a thin layer of bondo over it all to fill pin holes in the old and new glass , then spray some grey or other color primer over the patch ( make sure you cover anything you dont want paint on ) and block sand the area level with 400 grit, then 600 you only want to remove the high spots.

[nitro93]

Thanks for the reply!...This is the route that I thought I needed to go, but just wanted to hear from someone with more knowledge than myself.
I will try to post some pics as I do this if Ican figure out how.

Thanks again for the reply's.