Fibreglass repair / hole fill

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JasperII

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Evening all, I'm sure this will be a basic question for many but I'd love to hear some advice.

I'm still fairly new to boating so I hope my description makes sense!

I found on my Jeanneau Fantasia that the bolts holding the gudgeon for the transom hung rudder were worryingly loose. There was no way I could see to get to the nuts other than by drilling 4x approximately 15mm holes in the lazaretto towards where the gudgeon is.

I have now tightened the bolts but have 4x holes in the fibreglass. I obviously would like to fill these.

I do not know where to start. Any suggestions / advice etc etc gratefully received!

Many thanks
 
Thanks all for the replies. A few options to think about there. I won't be back at the boat for a couple of weeks so will do some reading up on the suggestions.
 
Agree with TQA some sort of blanking plate or grommets,you never know it may require access in the future.a picture would help.
 
As has already been said, I'd leave the holes there and make up a blanking plate either from plastic of wood.
If they came loose once, they'll come loose again, I still blows my mind that manufacturers don't provide access to all hardware bolts on their boats.
 
Blanking cover does sound like the best option incase of future issues.

It did puzzle me that there was no access to the nuts!

Thanks again all.
 
TQA said:
In your position I would make a blanking plate to cover the holes out of wood. Varnish or paint to match.

Fit it using st screws and mastic.

Easy to remove and refit the next time the bolts come loose.
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Please forgive my pedantry, but just in case the OP is so new to boating that he is unfamiliar with products for marine use; it's best to use a marine sealant such as Sikaflex. "Mastic" is a term generally applied to products used in the building industry, some of which may or may not be suitable for marine use.
 
wotayottie said:
The answer. Any structural repairs of the sort you describe are better done with epoxy though there are better epoxies than the American branded one mentioned. Afterwards you need to protect against UV which degrades epoxy
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O you think UV will be a significant issue with epoxy in the lazarette ?
 
PaulRainbow said:
O you think UV will be a significant issue with epoxy in the lazarette ?
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If they were not normally visible , there would probably no point in filling them.

Presumably therefore drilled somewhere visible, and therefore exposed to UV

Puzzled though why the nuts were not accessible from the lazarette,
 
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I can confirm the holes are on the lazerette so no UV issues.

I wouldn't be keen on leaving them un filled, I know it's be almost impossible for water to make its way in there but is rather the boat water tight!

The nuts were not visible on the lazerette as the bolts only go through the outer skin.

I may not have explained myself properly in the original post, and no pictures didn't help.
 
VicS said:
If they were not normally visible , there would probably no point in filling them.

Presumably therefore drilled somewhere visible, and therefore exposed to UV

Puzzled though why the nuts were not accessible from the lazarette,
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He already said in post #1 that he drilled the holes from within the lazarette.

I suspect his Jeanneau may have an internal hull liner and that's all he's drilled through.
 
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