Stillcrazy

I have done many repairs using 3/8 dowel rod. Easy to find,easy to use. Wet hole first with epoxy and let soak in a minute.Coat dowel and drive it in. If you measure transom thickness you can cut dowel a little short which leaves you room to drive it below the surface slightly.You can now fill with some glass/resin ,sand lightly dab on some gel. Since you will be hiding behind tabs you are only looking for a repair and not a cosmetic job. DON't be afraid No special knowledge required. Personally think fast easy 5200 way is tacky even if out of site.

blue thunder

Marine tex is the best 2 part epoxy I've seen and is available at any boat store. People live and die by it around here. I guess none of you use it... but maybe you should. Specifically made for this purpose below the water line.

that's my final plug for marine tex and my final .01

BT

RLW

StillCrazy has the right idea. I used West System and finished off the recessed hole with a 3M Vinylester filler. The problem that I encountered was the filler "sucked in" over time and left a small indentation. That is when I discovered the method of using the chopped strands of fiberglass. Dean's problem is not cosmetic in nature but still wants to repair a below water line hole the best way possible so not to compromise the integrity of the transom.

There is a product out on the market that makes removal of 3M 5200 easier. Go to Shipshape TV's website as that is the program I saw where they were using it to remove an old outboard transom bracket.
Good Luck with your project regardless of which way you go

Airpacker

5200 is a sealant,NOT a hole filler.use the wood dowel technique.slightyl chamfer the outside of the hole to allow for a cleaner fill and sand finnish job after epoxying in the dowels.

riskybusiness

All very good advice posted above.

I have been, and still am, a faithful beleiver in 3M 5200 for any below-the-waterline sealant requirement (which, 9 times out of 10 is going to be permanent anyway).

True, it will damage the glass when removed without heat. I have personally seen both Gel-Coat and fibers ripped right off the laminate by cured 5200.

The solution is heat. Any torch to the hardware will probably work, even propane.

The above suggestions of a dowel and Marine Tex is probably your quickest and best fix of the old holes.

Marine Tex is the balls for anything other than cosmetic, where you would need an overcoat of Gel Coat.

If you're hiding the holes with the trim tabs, use it.

Good Luck.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I am probably going to fill a couple holes to re-install Bennett Trim tabs over the top of them again. Nothing is going to show, so cosmetic is no big deal. Can I fill the holes with Marine Tex, drive in a small dowel, and fill back in the indentation with Marine Tex again? This sounds to me like a great combination of strength and sealing. Anyone have quams on this?

I am swapping from Bennett ST12 Trims tabs to ST16s. The cylinders, and everything will stay in the same place. The only thing is I have to remove the old mounting plate with 1 row of mounting screws, and install the new mounting plate, which is a little larger, in the same place. The new larger plate has two rows of screws, and I may get lucky and use the same screw holes over again on the transom. I am not sure. I am going to seal with white 4200. Any one else with inputs?

Thanks in advance!

Shorty

Hey Sydwayz, does your Bennet pump leak? Mine leaks like crazy, always have a mess to clean up where the pump is mounted. Have to refill 2 or 3 times a summer! Even tried using liquid gasket around the reservoir. arrrggh.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

M1S, yes, mine did leak like crazy. I tried RTV as well. It does not work. I sent it back to Bennett, and they could not find a reason why it was leaking either, but it leaked like a SOB since I bought it. All BTTS have a 5 year warranty. I sent mine back, and they sent me a brand new unit. Now I have a leaky ferrule/fitting or two. Drop me an email tomorrow at [email protected] and remind me to send you the email address and contact info of the guy who takes care of me at Bennett. These guys bend over backwards for customer service.

Shorty

Sweet. New pump reservior on the way. Now that's customer service! It's been one of those little annoying things that I've been meaning to get to. Check that off the list!

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I contacted Bennett Marine the first part of last week to consult with them on my best options for tabs. After chatting with them, I decided I wanted to go to the bigger, ST-16 Trim Tabs. (The boat came with ST-12s) I had them by Friday with regular shipping. They took very, very good care of me. They shipped out all new hardware, and get this, the new mounting plate has two rows of screws for the transom, and the bottom row of holes used the same pattern as the existing holes in the transom from the ST-12s!! I did not have to do any patching or curing on the transom!! It took a while to line things up correctly, but the cylinders mount to the tab at the same point with the 12s and 16s, so I did not even lose any travel with the new tabs. I am putting off winterizing and waitng for a nice day to go out, and test out the new tabs. Installation was a breeze!! The hardest part was installing in 20mph wind gusts, on the street beside my house, with cars whizzing by, and leaves blowing into the 4200! I will post my opinions/results with the new tabs as soon as I test!