Making my 2520 last forever

[panga]

I have a 92 2520 DV sport cabin with bracket mounted twins. I have owned the boat a couple years now and love it, and after doing all necessary mechanical repairs I am moving into the cosmetic and rot prevention repair mode. I would like to keep and fish this boat as long as possible, but am slightly concerned about all the wood in the hull. I plan to fill and re gelcoat all old screw holes and cut outs and scratches that have occured over the boats 20 year life from use and previous mods and alterations.

Mainly I am wondering how much do I need to worry about rot from screws and such through the glass into the wood. Should I be pulling screws out on non factory accessories and sealing them as I reinstall, or if it aint broke dont fix it?

Also how much precaution does the factory take when rigging these boats. For example with the wood in the transom, when Parker installed the outboard bracket on my boat and drilled holed through for the bolts how do they seal these?

What is the best method for sealing around screws that hold on accessories through glas layer into wood. For example the ladder to my tuna tower has legs with round flanges screwed to the deck, these screws sometimes back out from use, should I be worried about water hear, I have 4200 most of these type of situations, ...... but is this the best move? Or should I use epoxy to seal them up?

Last, what about in the bildge my pumps are all screwed to stringers, I really doubt anyone sealed these holes, should I remove and seal these screws, then reinstall? It seems like a very moist area, I plan to do the vented deck hatch mod to vent the system, but looking to do all I can.

Thanks for the help

 

[Bryan 2530]

Yes to all your questions, the level you want to attack it is up to you.

Have you seen the West System repair manual?

 

[panga]

Yeah that's what I figured. A couple questions on sealing existing screw holes. On accessories still in use should I pull screw fill hole with 4200 then reinstall or is there a better product? What is rot is already in there? I don't want to seal rot in? Would get rot product be better? Should I pull the screws then let it dry out for a few weeks then seal and install? Thanks for the help

 

[danielb]

on any penetrations of the gel coat it is rec. to over drill the hole to twice the size (make sure there is no rot or soft wood from water penetration), fill it with an epoxy filler till it hardens and then redrill the hole and seal the screw with your favorite sealant (4200, marine silicone, whatever) this is supposed to provide a barrier so not water penetrate the substrate of the gel coat.
the epoxy also fills any voids that may be under the gel coat. I have a 1990 and have done this above and below the water line and it is great way to keep the boat sound for a long time.

 

[DaleH]

Review the West Systems manual ... then save your $$ and buy Raka epoxy, www.raka.com . No messy pumps and mix as little or as much as you want in a simple 2 to 1 ratio.

SCREWS: Back out, heat core, fill holes with thin viscosity epoxy. West Marine makes an excellent product for this or use Git Rot or buy on-line from the Rot Doctor. Then use LifeCaulk by BoatLife, which I prefer to 3M 4200.

BOLTED deck hardware: I removed ALL deck hardware when I took possession of my own '92 vintage 2520 Parker (2002) and removed everything including the motor bracket (a few years later though.) All holes were drilled a good 1/4" over-size, then wetted out as per above, then plugged on one end with duct tape, and then filled with Raka epoxy. When set, all holes were drilled for the tap drill.

TOWER: That is the LAST place I'd want screws ... my tower is all through bolted.

 

[panga]

Cool thanks everyone for the help. Dale do you think the holes in the transom for bracket bolting were sealed from the factory?

The screws are on flanges at the bottom of the ladder to climb into the tower, so they are screwed into the deck, cant through bolt, no access, unless I cut in an deck hatch, which I don't really want to do, I think I should just up the fastener size and drill and fill and seal the holes.

Do you use a heat gun to heat the holes?

 

[DaleH]

Dale do you think the holes in the transom for bracket bolting were sealed from the factory?

Mine were sealed from outside intrusion with a goop like 5200, but were the holes themselves wetted out with an epoxy-type product? No.

Do you use a heat gun to heat the holes?

That's way too hot ... just use a hair dryer on warm ... give it 2-3 minutes after warming, then use the thin epoxy, the core cooling will draw the epoxy into it. That's what I'd also do with your ladder holes, just fill with epoxy, let fully cure, and re-drill for the body size of the screw. Still use a goop like LifeCaulk.

 

[panga]

Cool Thanks for all the tips everyone, I will be working on this for a winter project.

 

[Megabyte]

Take a look at my spring commissioning thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10258

I did a repair of my rocket launcher mount that had gotten water into my top because of improper sealing when the launcher was installed (owner installed, not factory).
I believe the repair begins on page 2, and was finished on page 3 when I returned from the BVI.

The short story...
Drill the hole oversize, fill with epoxy, drill through the epoxy, and mount. That way the wood can never get wet.
That is how I do all of my repairs and installs these days.

Good luck!