Lucky Scupper Here

[reelapeelin]

Hammer, hope I didn't sound too hard on ya above...I too am fiberglass CHALLENGED and look for alternate ways to repair...I'm just concerned that metal doesn't allow enough clearance between it and top of tank... ;)...

It'll tell ya on the tube min. temperature to use 5200...

[willy]

Gotcha MSB but where are you installing that valve, that is what I don't understand, will it be hanging loose mid hose where you cut and install it there or are you intending to mount that somewhere

[Franco]

take a grinder to the inside edge where the original plywood was bonded to the lid. cut a grove all around the lip - peel off the inside and discard - scrape and then grind the surface smooth. cut squares of plywood
( the squares allow the plywood to conform to the shape better) to fill that void. cut a piece of fiberglass cloth slight bibber than that surface, wet down the inside with fiberglass resin, lay on the cloth, roll it to get out the air bubbles, mix another batch of resin, and wet down both the inside and the pieces of plywood as you place them. the should be fairly snug, cut some more cloth and wet down the top of the plywood, add the cloth, add some more resin and roll out the bubbles. you can cust strips 8", 6" and 4" wide to layer the perimeter for extra strength. Then cut your holes for the deck plates. Seal the edges of the plywood with resin brushed on. use 5200 when installing deck plates TADA!!!

[msbhammer]

If I decide to tear it done and do it the correct way, what am I looking at in cost in materials ??
What about the type of plywood I should use ???.

So if I cut out the bottom, pull out all the old wood I now have a dry the underside.
2. wet the underside.
3. add in plywood.
4.wet that peice of plywood
5. add cloth and resin overtop
6. poof...done, right ?

Its not a thick cover, maybe 5/8 plywood, But I guess I can make it as thick as I want.
Mike.

[Franco]

is there a home depot near you. go check their off cut pile, you can usually buy pieces of good grade plywood at a really cheap price. whatever you buy ( I used cabinet grade ) make sure it has as many plys ( layers ) as possible. you can buy a gallon of inexpensive resin at boater world, along with the cloth. probably could do it for 75 bucks or less. When you secure the hatch down, tape a piece of 50 lb mono around the lip, so if you ever have to bust the 5200 seal, use the mono too cut it loose

[rb437]

My hatch was very soft before I made this repair. The wood was soaked. Water ran out when I cut the hatch open. Here's what I did.

I cut the glass off the underside of the hatch. Then I scraped off what was left of the wood. I removed the two inspection plates from the top side ofand allowed everything to dry out. Now I have a stripped down bare fiberglass hatch with no wood or any other hardware attached. Next I cut a 3/4" piece of plywood to the same dimenions as the old piece of wood and epoxied it to the underside of the hatch. I used plenty of epoxy and a lot of weight to try to eliminate any air between the wood and the hatch. It seems to have worked, the hatch is solid all over now. Once the epoxy cured I turned the hatch over and used a jigsaw to cut the inspection holes in the wood using the hatch itself as a guide. Then I used more epoxy to cover all the exposed wood including all the exposed edges around the outside and at the inspection plate holes. Once that was dry, I re-installed the inspection covers (with 5200) and re-installed the hatch. I did not replace the fiberglass that I cut off. I only used epoxy to secure and protect the wood. This hatch is as solid as any where on the boat. I forget what grade of plywood I used , but it was not marine or treated. I did like Franco said. I went to Home Depot and got a good quality piece of wood. I was able to find a 4' x 4' sheet that more than enough for the job. There is one thing I would have done different. My hatch had a couple of small cracks in it because thae previous owner walked on it when it was soft and the hatch flexed and cracked. When I repaired the hatch, some epoxy seeped through and now I have a couple of small spots on the deck. I should have patched those cracks before I glued the wood down.

Apparently my tape measure is more accurate than my memory. That was 5/8" plywood I used.

[phatdaddy]

hammer, I replaced my deckdrains with 1" bar sink drains that I got at a plumbing supply house. They were brass. They also came with a nice brass plug that stops the water from coming in. The nipple on the bottom is a little long, but I just cut it off so the barb street ell would fit flush. That was 2 years ago and no problems so far.

[Mulv80]

I did the same as Rick with good results. *If you decide to go this route dont use presure treated plywood, its too wet. *Just use the regular stuff. *You want the wood to accept the fiberglass resin or epoxy. *Also dont use 5200 to seal the hatch, this is a job for 4200 , it has about half the adhesion stength of 5200 making it easier to remove if you have to.

[willy]

PDaddy tell me more about these drains with built in stops please, a pic would be great ;)

[msbhammer]

Send pictures of the bar....drains. Wondering if Home Depot would have them....aka sink drains...right, but smaller, right. ?
Send pictures if you can.
Mike.