To go with the engine replacement topic that we've got going, all of the work below needs to be done before the new engine can be put in at all. Lots of pics, amazing work from Terry. I'm not sure I'd have the courage to do so much.

From Terry: I have to divot into the glass around the through-hulls being filled in to create a space for the filler glass layup to go, then glass them in and fair them up on the outside. Next, I have to do a similar divot on the inside down to meet and bond to the outer layup, and then lay up some heavy mat and roving on the inside for some distance all around the patched area, especially the three holds near the keel and engine beds.

The first step to filling in the holes where the through-hulls and various bolts had been was to grind out saucer shaped divots around them down to a tapered edge at the inner edge of the holes so they could be filled with multiple layers of fiberglass cloth and mat without creating a bulge in the hull at that point. Here two through-hulls where a seacock and knot-meter impeller had been and a couple of bolt holes are being divoted out with a grinder to receive the new fiberglass patches.

Which gives this:

To have a solid surface to fiberglass up against, a temporary blocking patch is jammed in against the holes with a layer of wax paper against the hull so the glass patch won't stick to it, and then some blocking pressed against it.

Here three shores jam wax paper and blocks against the two cockpit drain through-hull holes and the holes which were located just ahead of the old engine bearers for the cooling water inlet and knotmeter impeller.

Close up of the blocking against the old cockpit drain through-hulls being filled in.

Laying up the many layers of glass to fill in the bolt holes where the boarding ladder had been bolted on to the transom.

Wetting out the freshly ground glass before starting to apply the first of about 15 layers of mat and cloth in the deeper holes where the hull is thicker. Old gallon plastic containers make good fiberglassing resin holders. I usually use a 3 inch short bristle roller; not a fluffy one that would tend to wrap the cloth around it and would not create sufficient pressure to get out the air bubbles.

A completed patch where an old unused exhaust port had exited below the counter just ahead of the transom. This is how a patch should look when done: translucent clear with no air bubbles.

The two old cockpit drain holes are filled in, with the larger holes near the keel visible at the bottom of the photo.

This multi-layer patch covers the three sets of holes ahead of the engine bearers with several full size layers over the smaller circle patches that brought the three holes up flush with the larger divot before feathering out into the hull. You can see the weft of the heavier roving as straight lines fore and aft. It takes a while for the resin to completely saturate the heavier roving and render it translucent.

With the outside patches in place and ready for fairing in with the grinder and hand sanding, the next job is to remove the blocking and shores from inside the boat and grind the glass down to get a good bond with the larger patches that will cover the holes on the inside. These patches will not be divoted into the hull, but will be laid up as patches over the existing hull glass for greater strength. The larger holes by the keel and the two holes where the cockpit drains were will be covered by the new engine bearers, so they will have additional reinforcing on the inside.

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