Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by brorobin on 04/29/10 - 7:30 PM

On my 13 sport about half way back on the port side there is series of six screws on the inside of the gunnel near the top, two rows of three. On the top of the gunnel in the flat portion beside the white portion of the rubrail there is eight screws. All of these had plastic mollies through the gelcoat where the screws are placed.
I took the screws out and the mollies just pushed inside under the gelcoat. The foam is hollowed out under the gelcoat. It seems to be an area of about two inches by three inches cube. (This area can vaguely be seen in the last photo on my personal page.
QUESTION: How should I fill the void under there? Should I try and pump/squeeze epoxy in there through the screw holes (I would mask off the holes that are vertical so the epoxy would not run out.) Or should I cut open the area from the top and put liquid/spray foam?
Any advise would help.
I'll try and add a close up photo in the morning.

Posted by Finnegan on 04/29/10 - 8:58 PM

On the Boston Whaler Owners Club website there are specific instructions from the Company on how to make such a repair.

They say to use polyester resin, not epoxy.

Posted by Binkie on 04/30/10 - 3:38 AM

Many have used Gorilla Glue with great success for filling vertical holes drilled into your Whaler. It is catalyzed by water or dampness, and will completely fill the void in the foam as the glue expands. It can be used on horizontal holes also, but the hole must be sealed with tape and pressure while the expanding glue does its job. Some have used MarineTex or Bondo, but its difficult to completely fill the void in this manner. It should be used over the Gorilla Glue filled hole to create a new finished surface. Filling a void with polyester resin? That's a new one to me. How is that done?

Posted by HarleyFXDL on 04/30/10 - 5:26 AM

I used a $2 turkey baster that looks like a big hypodermic needle. I sucked up the resin and injected it into the hole after hollowing it out with a hex key attached to a drill.

Posted by brorobin on 04/30/10 - 4:45 PM

Rain came in today and I did not have a chance to work on the screw holes. (I did tape over them before the rain fell.)

I posted a couple of photos on my personal page, the last two on the page.

Rich, if you don't mind give me a little more info on the --Many have used Gorilla Glue with great success for filling vertical holes drilled into your Whaler. It is catalyzed by water or dampness, and will completely fill the void in the foam as the glue expands. Are you saying add water after adding the GG?

Kevin, what type of resin and hardner did you use?

Thanks for all the input.

Posted by modenacart on 05/01/10 - 1:05 PM

I filled a bunch of holes with polyester resin and Colloidal Silica, or Cabosil, both are the same I believe. If you plan on gelcoating over it, I would use polyester resin and not epoxy because gelcoat may not stick to the epoxy. Whaler recommends a polyester based resin.