I can't believe I did this

[dolphinheron]

First of all, what a great forum. I'm so happy to have found it.

A few weeks ago I bought a 1999 17' CC Logic. I love it! But it was lacking fishing pole holders. So I bought a couple and tried to install them myself. They are the kind where you have to open a hole in the boat and shove them down inside, then screw them in. I thought it would work fine, but I miscalculated and made the hole too big. I feel so bad about it.

Now I need help figuring out how to patch that hole. I suppose I can fill it with the spray expandable foam, right? But then covering the hole is the issue. Have any of you ever covered a hole in your boat? If so, how did you do it?

I know, I really messed up...

[Jan from Humboldt]

You can buy a hot air plastic welder from Harbor Freight and tools, you can also get in touch with Triumph for some material to make a patch with and make sure you get enough to practice with.

Hint...
HDPE white plastic cutting boards from Kmart are also a ready source of material. Also look into 1/2" Starboard (Plastic board).

Now here's a key learning about those rod holders, it's a lot easier to use a 1/4" peice of plywood or even a heavy chunk of triple layer cardboard as a template to get the proper size hole BEFORE you start cutting into the boat.

Fixing the hole shouldn't be too hard to do if you are careful.

[HIGH&DRY]

Dolphinheron,
I had a pretty nice 55 ft. yacht built to my design specifications by Hans Christian in 1978. Took delivery in Oakland Calif. During the first week aboard I was mounting a bracket on the inside of the hull and the first hole I drilled went through the hull and when I pulled the drill out water came shooting out right in my face. I was shocked but put a screw in the hole and tightened it down for a short-term fix.
Sometimes it’s good to get those demons out of the way right at the start!
You might make a plate to go over the hole and mount the rod holder in the plate. Screw the plate in place.
I’d mount a similar plate on the other side with another rod holder in it and tell people that’s the new style.
HIGH&DRY

[dolphinheron]

Thanks to both of you. You've given me hope for the future! Good to know it can be fixed.

Should I go ahead and spray in some of that canned expandable foam to fill the hole before patching it?

By the way - I wish a Happy Independence Day to everyone, especially to the veterans on this site.

[Jan from Humboldt]

Foam the hole for sure as you don't want the void allowing water to enter the between hull area. I'd duct tape it closed till you get a final fix.

[cagrove]

You've just learned one of the great things about plastic boats...you can fix them without jumping through a lot of hoops. Fill the hole with foam (if you use the expanding kind, go easy...a little goes a long way) or Rule and leave enough room to fit in a piece of starboard or cutting board cut to the hole size. "Weld" the piece in with either a plastic welder or an electric soldering iron...keep it moving and don't heat up one place too much. You may want to practice on a scrap before trying it on your boat. Use a wood chisel to remove any excess and sand lightly with 600 grit sandpaper. Hit it with a buffing pad to restore the shine and you've fixed it. Sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. You might consider taking before, during and after pictures and post them in the photo gallery...might just help out someone else that's done the same sort of thing. Tight lines.

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

hey dolphin
You ever get those holes filled and holders mounted

[dolphinheron]

I'm ashamed to say it's still covered with duct tape and a plastic hamburger bun bag. I'll get there, though - I got such good advice from all of you - thanks for checking up on us! When I finally get it done I'll give an update.

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

worse case scenario is you can put a nice "boarding "step over the hole and cut a new holder hole either inside the step or behind it