Tiller pilot 'hole' - how to reinforce?

[PhillM]

So the 'old' tiller pilot fittings are apparently not for a TP10 and are therefore in the wrong place. So I have the service kit (£18 for a brass socket, new tiller pin and new ram end) and will be fitting it at the weekend. However, the brass socket is going to end up on the ridge around the cockpit, which is only a couple of inches wide and not that easy to access from underneath. I was thinking of drilling a hole in the GRP and glueing it in with epoxy, then getting underneath and adding a blob or two of fiberol to give it some support from underneath.

Is this a bodge too far and should I really be fashioning a perfectly fitting wooden block and glueing that underneath?

 

[Corribee Boy]

You could indeed glass in a carefully-shaped piece of light, rot-proof wood such as red cedar to fill the gap, and bed the socket down into this with a suitable sealant.

Well, that's what I did, and it works!

 

[Concerto]

You would be wise to fit some glassfibre pudding (chopped strand with resin) uner the deck where you plan the hole to be drilled as then you will drill into solid material and the new socket can then be epoxied in for total security. If it is not visible, then use a glassfibre repair kit from Halfords rather than expensive marine materials.

 

[V1701]

I've glassed in a block of hardwood for this purpose before but if doing again I have enough faith in CT1 to just use that...