How do I attach an angled eberspacher bracket to inside of the transom

[sailingjupiter]

Hi

I am fitting an eberspacher to my boat this winter. I have identified a good spot out of the way in the stern locker that is on the inside of the transom. I have an "L" shaped bracket for the heater so need to "stick it" somehow on the GRP of the transom. I have been told the best way is to "glass" on a block of wood and then screw the bracket to it. Great, but how can the wood be attached, bearing in mind the weight of the heater unit and the obvious forces when sailing. Obviously I want to avoid drilling any holes through any outside GRP surfaces.

Thanks

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

A block of wood glassed on will easily be strong enough.....

 

[sailorman]

bond the block with car body filler ( temp fixing ) after abraiding the whole area say125 m/m larger all round the block

cut glass mat to size
wet-out with epoxy ( sticks to polyester better in retro use ) & lay-up say 4 layers & roll out all bubbles
epoxy isnt the easiest material to use up-hill / over head.

i re-fitted the heater in my Co32 & used wing nuts to hold the heater to the bracket as the heater was under the deck head out of sight but easy to reach with out getting into the very small locker. was able to remove heater in a few minutes

 

[john_morris_uk]

Cut wood block to correct shape/angle so that you can screw the bracket to it and the heater will be horizontal. Radius the edges that will not be against the hull.

Grind inside of transom over a suitable area (area of block plus a few cm all round)

Stick block to transom with thickened epoxy. (wedge/clamp it in place while the epoxy goes off)

Fillet round the block with thickened epoxy.

Epoxy layers of tape over the block and down to the hull. (The fillets and radii of the block will make this a lot easier.) Two or three layers of tape and epoxy, and you can nearly hang your boat off it.

Use suitable large screws to fix the eberspacher bracket in place.

Hope you get as warm a boat as ours!

 

[savageseadog]

I used an industrial 2 pack epoxy, the type in a twin tube, it sets in a couple of minutes. I used a little bit to put the bood in place and some more with woven glass to fix it once and for all.