Making hole in deck

[brownsox]

Need to make a hole in the deck for the cable from the new solar panel. Have seen lots of posts about routing out the balsa core etc. Is this strictly necessary or would we be ok to drill the hole and seal it with araldite?

 

[LadyStardust]

Well I'm no expert but have spent the last month fixing deck holes on my boat as they were never properly sealed.
I would not recommend araldite, if your deck has a core, then any water ingress could spell big problems in the future. I think the easiest answer might be to drill an oversize hole and fill it with thickened epoxy, then drill a smaller hole in the centre of the epoxy for your cable to go through. This will protect the core, however you may find it difficult to seal the cable properly. It might be worth fitting a thru-deck socket/plug arrangment.

 

[reeac]

A boatyard man told me that if you need to bolt on a deck fitting to a foam or balsa cored deck then a handy gambit is to drill a hole through then fit an Allen key to the drill [long end into chuck], introduce the Allen key into the deck cavity and whirl it around to create an outsized hole within that cavity. Then tape over or otherwise block the lower opening to the hole and fill with a two part epoxy filler. When set, drill the bolt hole that you need which will then be surrounded by a thick-walled cylinder of filler which will take the crushing load when you tighten the bolt. This technique might be a belt-and-braces way to take a cable through a deck without risking water getting into the core.

 

[pappaecho]

I have fitted a few solar panels, including to my Evasion 32, which has a balsa core.
I use a simple waterproof deck gland, available from any chandlery. In fact Beneteau did similar when they built the boat in 1978, with both the mainmast for lights etc, and in the mizzen for VHF etc. As the stress on the fitting is low to nothing, I cannot see why more intensive techniques like filling the hole with epoxy and then drilling out are required.

 

[yotphil1]

you could always slip a bush in there. Ie; a tube made from the same metal as the screws you are using for the deck gland. Make it about 1/2mm shorter than the thickness of the deck laminate. But really, the over drill, epoxy, re-drill method is the easiast.

 

[pvb]

Not necessary...

You don't need to worry about removing the balsa core, or even sealing it. What you do need to do is ensure a watertight seal where the cable enters the deck. There are 2 ways of doing this. You can either pass the cable through a waterproof cable gland, or you can fit a waterproof plug & socket. The plug & socket has the advantage that you can easily remove the solar panel if you need to. With either of these options, you need to use sealant between the deck and the underside of the fitting (neatest way is to dry-fit first, put masking tape around the fitting, then remove fitting, add sealant, refit, smooth excess sealant, remove masking tape, admire).

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'Day Mary,

Short cuts make long jobs; drill and clean out the balsa, fill with epoxy and a suitable filler, Microballoons or 'Q' Cells will ok for this particular application.

Waterproof glands may work on a solid deck, however Balsa will give after a time will get in. I have had to repair many Balsa decks for clients and a lot of these were under 'waterproof' fittings.

Do it right the first time, is good advise well founded, it's not belt and braces when Balsa in involved.

Avagoodweekend........