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Montauk Front Rail Holes Stripped on Boat. Best Fill for Redrill???
What have any of you used to fill stripped holes in the decking and been successful with re-drilling. My rails are loose and need to be re-seeded into the deck. I just got a gel-coat patch kit, but i guess that's for holes not to be re-drilled ( I have plenty of those).
I've seen this done and it works great. Get a small hex key (Allen wrench) and put it in an electric drill. Then insert the small end into the screw hole and slowly run the drill to hollow out the loose particles. Fill with resin and redrill after it dries.
You could also fill the enlarged holes with thickened epoxy and use the trick of coating the threads of the fasteners completely with a thin film of candle wax (or similar to keep the epoxy from bonding) and embed in the wet epoxy. When dry, unscrew the fastners, and you'll have a perfect match for the threads with no drilling....
I drilled out the holes a little bigger, I got a dowel from the hardware store, and cut it to the depth of the new hole (actually cut it a tad shorter), I then coated the pre-cut dowels in "Marine Tex", and put them down into the drill holes, let cure over night, I put a dab of marine tex in the hole to make it even (tool with mineral spirits), let cure over night, I then took a small drill bit, and drilled "Pilot Holes" in the cured dowels, the rail is holding very well, nice and secure now I HATE FLOPPY RAILS ON ANY BOAT ! (ya can't have too many grab rails, or external V.H.F Radio speakers on a boat as far as I'm concerned) nothing like losing your balance and grabbing a rail for security and doing a little "Dance" while holding on for dear life.
mw
An old trick we use in filling "bagged out" holes is stripping some #12 or#14 solid strand copper wire (yes Romex) bending it double and sticking it in the hole...I'd then fill it with marinetex for the boat.
It'll give a good solid bite when you retap the SS screws.....
