There's a hole in my boat, now what.

[blinkerfluid]

We removed the CapHorn windvane from our boat, and now we have a rather large (3") hole in the transom that we need to do something with.

I suppose the correct answer is to put in a new piece of coring and glass over it; but does anyone have any other ideas on what we might be able to do with this hole that won't require repainting the whole transom? As a relevant note; we just got this boat, which has been painted in the past, and we don't know what paint or what color was used, so just doing a small paint repair probably won't work.

Only other option I could think of is put a piece of stainless plate over it.

[letsgetsailing3]

New windvane.

[blinkerfluid]

haha, that would kind of defeat the purpose of removing it in the first place. We're going to have an arch with dinghy davits, so a windvane probably isn't going to work. The boat is cutter rigged with a staysail boom, so we can't store a dinghy on the deck; so the davits are pretty desirable for us. Plus, if I were going to get a new windvane, I don't think I'd get one that requires a 3" hole in the transom.

[gonesail]

i'm facing this as well. a 3" hole in the stern. at least it is not below the waterline

[letsgetsailing3]

Speaker

[blinkerfluid]

It'd be easy if it were below the waterline, I'd just get a big 10k lumen underwater light to install in it since most of them use 3" holes. Having one shining out the back of the transom above the waterline doesn't make much sense though.

The speaker isn't a bad idea, though I wonder how well that would hold up to getting hammered by waves in the ocean. I could share my favorite songs with everyone in the anchorage though lol, at least those behind me anyway.

[AndyEss]

Put in a blower to cool the engine compartment. Put it on a thermostat so it runs after engine shutoff. Residual engine heat isn’t pleasant on a hot summer day, no matter where you are (except maybe in the high latitudes - but who in their right minds would pleasure sail up (or down) there?).

[Reefmagnet]

Probably not too bad a spot for installation of a transom shower

[blinkerfluid]

Both those sound like good ideas. I suppose I could do another exhaust thru-hull with 3" hose to a vented loop to protect from wave impacts, and route that to a fan in the engine compartment.

I like the transom shower idea a lot, though I'd have to find one that I'd feel confident would hold up to wave impacts. The hole is maybe 18" above the waterline.. maybe.

[Madehn]

do it right = put in a new plug of coring and fiberglass then sand smooth - after that put on a new graphic that covers the repair and the patch.

[Dave22q]

I would fill with something like plastic wood and cover both sides with teak, aluminum or stainless steel. Just personal taste, I would not simply cover the hole. Fill for structure, cover for aesthetics.

[Cheechako]

Put in a thru hull exhaust fitting to match, then one in the cockpit footwell wall, put a hose between them. You now have more cockpit drainage in case of a dousing! I did two of them in the 31 footer I built years ago!

[guyrj33]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I would fill with something like plastic wood and cover both sides with teak, aluminum or stainless steel. Just personal taste, I would not simply cover the hole. Fill for structure, cover for aesthetics.

The repair has to be at least as strong as the original transom.
Make the repair with epoxy resin, polyester won't be strong enough.

While your waiting to make the repair get a 3" plumbing test plug , they are expanding rubber, from Home Depot to plug the hole.

[Cadence]

Fill it anyway you want, it's not structural, Put a clamshell over it even though it has no
function. Who will know?

[guyrj33]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Fill it anyway you want, it's not structural, Put a clamshell over it even though it has no
function. Who will know?

it is structural the moment the transom is hit by a wave, and I'm sure that won't be a time when you want to be fixing a 3" hole in your boat.