Last weekend I took out the bolt that attaches the bridle wire to the front the hulls and found that since the bolt had been a little loose it's enlarged the hole considerably and I'm concerned that I need to do something about it before something serious happens.
Another person at my club suggested epoxying a stainless steel sleeve in the hole for the bolt to sit in so that the bolt could never wear away the hull again. Is this a good idea and has anyone else done this?
I'm also new to epoxy which probably doesn't help . Since it's a vertical hole and not a dent on the side of a hull, I'm kind of unsure how to go about the task. Does anyone have any experience in doing this sort of job? Should I install the sleve and pour the epoxy around it, or is it better to fill the hole with epoxy, push the sleeve in and then clear out the epoxy from the centre of the sleeve? Any tips that anyone has would be appreciated.
Schobiedoo.
Hey mate
I had this exact problem but the difference was i noticed it half way through the Australian hobie nationals and decided if it brake we'll get insurance money and well kept on going. It didn't brake and we had alot on. Unless your going to have the boat for another 10-20years i dont think to sleeve the hole is the way to go because if the epoxy gives way well it doesn't matter that the sleeve is there or not. All i did is re fibure glass it and drilled a new hole. you cant tell the difference and the bolt just fits which means no wearing. Well there will be wearing but not much not much at all. The important thing is just to fill the hole up and make sure it wont go and thats it.