Re-bed screws under swim step

[ewandeane]

With the warm summer water I was swimming the boat and doing some under water checks. I noticed a couple screws were coming loose on my swim step support. I have removed them and want to re-install. There is a fair bit of water going to hit this area while under way.

What is the best filler to fill the holes in with, and be able to securely screw back into?

Regular epoxy?

Thanks

Ewan.

 

[Comodave]

Thickened epoxy would be much better than regular epoxy. I would use a structural thickener not just silica. Fill the holes and then after the epoxy has gone off drill the holes. Although it probably would be way better to through bolt it than screw. A bolt will be much stronger. Though you didn’t say what exactly the screws are holding. If they are holding the platform brackets then I would certainly try to go with through bolts. Look and see what access there is on the inside. If you can through bolt them, I would add a backing plate also.

 

[ewandeane]

Thanks Comodave,
The repair is on the underside of the swim step (or is it swim grid??) which is out of the water, except when running above 5 knots. There are 4 supports holding the step up each with 4 screws screwed into the underside of the step. Bolting would require drilling thought the swim step and having the bolt heads exposed on top of the step. Not terrible but not like how the rest of the supports are attached.

 

[Comodave]

Then I would go with thickened epoxy and just use the screws. Have you worked with epoxy before? If not West System has some good how tos on their website. Also their phone support is good.

 

[ewandeane]

Yes, I have used that product before, though it was a while ago.
Thanks for helping out. Appreciate it.

 

[Bacchus]

Good advice from Dave.
Good time to check if swim deck has core and if it has any wet spots around attachments. If it does and you can remove the swim deck repair is much easier up side down at home with all access from the bottom. Pretty common for mfg to do a less than ideal job with penetrations.

 

[Duvie]

Total Boat and West amongst others make pre-thickened epoxies in a caulking gun cartridge that mix together in the tip when dispensing. I think some of their products claim to work on damp surfaces/materials too. Thats the way I would go especially if you are completing while in the water.

 

[Comodave]

Total Boat and West amongst others make pre-thickened epoxies in a caulking gun cartridge that mix together in the tip when dispensing. I think some of their products claim to work on damp surfaces/materials too. Thats the way I would go especially if you are completing while in the water.

That is a good idea, I have used them and actually have about 5 tubes in my stock now. They do make it easy.

 

[koliver]

With the warm summer water I was swimming the boat and doing some under water checks. I noticed a couple screws were coming loose on my swim step support. I have removed them and want to re-install. There is a fair bit of water going to hit this area while under way.

What is the best filler to fill the holes in with, and be able to securely screw back into?

Regular epoxy?

Thanks

Ewan.

Ewan:

When I widened my swim grid a dozen years ago, I found the bolts holding the support brackets to the transom had thinned, from 5/16 to less than 1/8. Crevice corrosion? It was definitely time to replace them all. I also positioned the new bolts so no new penetrations of the transom were below the water line. The original brackets were bolted to the transom with no regard to the water line, so I simple installed new bolts in 5200 in the old holes, tightened them up and painted over the lot. The new brackets occupy positions beside the old locations, so I can inspect the old bolted holes whenever I haul. I also through bolted the wider swim grid to the new brackets with carriage bolts, so the heads, when tightened, are sucked down into the wood and offer no toe stubbing opportunities.