Need to seal holes in roof of pilothouse 2520

[Flyliner]

I got lucky and scored a used tower for my 2520.

I took some measurements and it looks like i'm going to have to remove the port and starboard handrails, antenna mounts and possibly the factory rocket launcher.

That's a bunch of holes to fill. My first thought was to seal them all with 5200 and call it done. My second thought was to fill all the holes with fiberglass filler, fair it, lay a small patch of cloth, fair it again and hit it with gelcoat.

Your thoughts on this please? Will 5200 flow and fill all the voids in the holes enough that I won't have to worry about rot developing?

Thanks for your input.

 

[DaleH]

DO NOT USE 5200!

I'd tape off from down below with duct tape, and be SURE to press IN w/ your finger to leave a good rounded impression in the duct tape.

Then wet-out the core w/ thin penetrating epoxy. When kicked (tacky) fill to almost filled w/ Formula 27, then gelcoat over that.

FWIW I filled 32 holes up each side (so 64 total!) of my hull when I switched out to a bowrail w/ pulpit - using this method - and you cannot tell! And, the holes are waterproof.

That 'dome' you pressed into the tape will give you some surface to put gelcoat into when you fill them from below.

 

[Flyliner]

Thanks for the info Dale. Any idea what the off white parker color code is? It looks like Interlux Hatteras White to me, but I can't be sure unless I test.

 

[kidfreediver]

By a quart from the dealer

 

[Flyliner]

No dealers in our area Kidfreediver. A ton of chandleries though and I'd rather buy local. Someone here has to know the paint code/name.

 

[kidfreediver]

No dealers in our area Kidfreediver. A ton of chandleries though and I'd rather buy local. Someone here has to know the paint code/name.

Okay do u have a tap plastic that where I go to buy gelcoat and pigment. U can just match it urself. Never heard of paint code on gelcoat

 

[Flyliner]

Good to know, I have one right down the street. I was actually just thinking it spot painting the holes with matching paint, but gelcoat at tap works.

 

[shawnee83]

I know Starling Marine in Morehead City has it in stock as I just talked to them this morning about buying some. They have quarts of it. Parker off white(the original or I guess the old color)? I'm sure they will UPS it to you if you pay the freight. Here is their number.
252-247-6667

 

[kidfreediver]

Good to know, I have one right down the street. I was actually just thinking it spot painting the holes with matching paint, but gelcoat at tap works.

inquire with the people at tap. U won't need much with those holes and remember gelcoat doesn't change color when dry. Buy some curing agents may sprinkle some non skid. Easy to do

 

[ktomlinson]

Cecil marine has the Parker gelcoat on their online store, I used some and it was a perfect match for my 2007 2520.

 

[Flyliner]

Ktomlinson, you are the man. Ordered a 6oz. last Friday and had it on Monday.

 

[Megabyte]

Do a search in the Projects area for my spring commissioning thread about 2 years ago where I repaired and remounted my rocket launchers.

The previous owner installed the rocket launchers and never sealed the holes.
The balsa core around the holes got wet and rotten, so I removed the bad wood and filled the holes with epoxy.
In my case, I used unthickened epoxy because I wanted it to really soak into the wood, but if I had it to do over I would have added a bit of cabosil to make the repair easier.

After filling the holes, I remounted everything by drilling through the epoxy and remounted everything with sealant and polished stainless backing plates.
That rocket launcher is now mounted for life. :wink:

In my case, I did not have to match the gelcoat since the backing plates covered my repairs.