Repairing screw holes

[mariner3302]

I have several fittings,hardware etc that is screwed into the grp on the deck and inside of my boat.Some of the screws wont't tighten up,what is the best method to fix this problem?

I thought of filling the existing screw holes with epoxy resin,re-drill then re-screw the screws in, is this correct? There has to be an easier way.

[AllAboutMe]

You can soak cellulose sponge in unthickened expoxy, and push it into the holes. This is more of a temporary fix. When it's kicked, you can screw the fittings down. Or, you can do it the right way, and drill oversized just thru the surface and core, fill, and once it hardens, drill and tap, or just drill and screw the fittings down. If the core is thick enough, I like to tap and use machine screws because it tends to be more water tight.

[CapnK]

I go with the fill, overdrill, refill, rescrew method. It works, and seems to be the "proper" way to do it so that there are no worries/hassles down the road...

Never thought about the machine screw idea... Perhaps they'd have more/better purchase, too, due to greater surface area...?

[AdriftAtSea]

The real problem is if you're drilling into cored fiberglass, then you really should use the drill, fill with epoxy, let set, and redrill technique to avoid problems with water intrusion into the core.  Also, I'd like to point out that fiberglass is a pretty lousy material for screws in general.  Through bolting is a much better solution, and if that isn't possible, screwing into thickened epoxy is better than screwing into fiberglass laminate.  Fiberglass laminate cracks fairly easily, when penetrated by a screw, and the broken glass fibers greatly weaken the area as they tear the laminate apart, when the screw is heavily loaded. 

Just my $.02 worth...

[Captain Smollett]

I agree on through bolting.  The shearing forces are deck hardware can be enormous in a seaway, and a simple screw into the deck (even an epoxy filled hole) is not as strong as it CAN be.

Very little of my deck hardware is through-bolted, but I am changing that.  I'm doing the handrails first, since they needed replacing anyway.  I've got everything ready to assemble and found this afternoon that my tube of 5200 set up in the tube (only used once previously  >:( ), and it has to be done by Friday!!   :o

I'm using 1/2" oak as the oversized backing plates.  I decided to go with wood backing plates for 'look-n-feel' and also to double as points of attachment for miscellaneous hanging things.  The fasteners are 3" 10-24 pan head screws.

[CharlieJ]

in the future keep your tube of 5200, 4200, etc in the vegatable crisper in your refrigerator. That's where Laura and I keep ours and it really does keep it from setting up. We've had opened tubes go 6 months in there and still be usable.
I keep extra boxes of protective gloves and my dust masks in there too. Keeps the elastic on the masks from going bad.

[AdriftAtSea]

Don't forget to bevel the edges of the backing plates, to prevent a hard spot from appearing in the fiberglass it is behind.  Proper backing plates have the edges beveled to allow the load to gradually taper off at the plate's edges. 

Just my $.02 worth for the discussion.

[Captain Smollett]

Re: Beveling:

Yep; I beveled them 30 degrees I wanted to do more, but there was not room.  I also rounded the ends, so the whole thing looks somewhat like a flattened hot dog bun.

I'll post some pics of the completed projects (new cushions, backing plates, new handrails, etc) when I get all done.  Not that this was high-power refitting, but it's a start.

[AdriftAtSea]

Re: Beveling:

Yep; I beveled them 30 degrees I wanted to do more, but there was not room.  I also rounded the ends, so the whole thing looks somewhat like a flattened hot dog bun.

I'll post some pics of the completed projects (new cushions, backing plates, new handrails, etc) when I get all done.  Not that this was high-power refitting, but it's a start.

Don't forget the ketchup... :D