Patrick Ward
New member
A question for people with more knowledge than I have:
I am working on my 2006 Trophy 1902wa and specifically the trim tabs. The boat lives in a slip in San Francisco Bay. The trim tabs are below the water line.
I found that the screws holding the trim tab backing plate had mostly rusted out. They were embedded in the fiberglass below the water line. I was able to completely remove a few, however, several of the remainders were too far gone. I chose to leave those in place, firmly bedded in the fiberglass.
I then sealed the area up with epoxy, sanded it down, and drilled new holes for the backing plates. I fabricated new plates as part of this. When I drilled the holes, I hit wood (expected) beyond the glass. The wood was damp, likely due to water intrusion through the rusted-out screws.
As damp wood is always a concern, I immediately stopped to think.
I noticed that:
- no water was leaking out of the holes
- the wood was solid when tested with a nail
- none of the screws came out easily if at all
- there was no other evidence on the hull of cracking, softness, or anything else either externally or internally
- the only water in the hull was below the bilge pump. I cleaned this out with a rag
So, my plan is to let this air dry for a day or so, then refill the holes with epoxy and install new hardware into the new epoxy. My assumption is that the water intrusion is from the rusted screws and that this is localized and can be safely isolated. I should add that, since I am in the Bay Area, there is no hot weather on the horizon. 60s and cloudy until October.
Is this the correct plan?
I am working on my 2006 Trophy 1902wa and specifically the trim tabs. The boat lives in a slip in San Francisco Bay. The trim tabs are below the water line.
I found that the screws holding the trim tab backing plate had mostly rusted out. They were embedded in the fiberglass below the water line. I was able to completely remove a few, however, several of the remainders were too far gone. I chose to leave those in place, firmly bedded in the fiberglass.
I then sealed the area up with epoxy, sanded it down, and drilled new holes for the backing plates. I fabricated new plates as part of this. When I drilled the holes, I hit wood (expected) beyond the glass. The wood was damp, likely due to water intrusion through the rusted-out screws.
As damp wood is always a concern, I immediately stopped to think.
I noticed that:
- no water was leaking out of the holes
- the wood was solid when tested with a nail
- none of the screws came out easily if at all
- there was no other evidence on the hull of cracking, softness, or anything else either externally or internally
- the only water in the hull was below the bilge pump. I cleaned this out with a rag
So, my plan is to let this air dry for a day or so, then refill the holes with epoxy and install new hardware into the new epoxy. My assumption is that the water intrusion is from the rusted screws and that this is localized and can be safely isolated. I should add that, since I am in the Bay Area, there is no hot weather on the horizon. 60s and cloudy until October.
Is this the correct plan?
