Small hole drilled below waterline - Advice

[Lineman11]

Hi Everyone,

I picked up my Kingfisher Escape 2025 on Friday. I decided to rig out the boat myself as I did not want to pay the insane labor charges the dealer charged.

I made the mistake of drilling a pilot hole below the water line, which I did not intend to do ( I know, I feel dumb ). I was making a hole for the transducer cable to enter the boat. I ended up filling the hole with a self taping screw with washer, and 3M 5200 in the hole before I drilled it in. I also put 5200 around the screw on the outside and inside of the boat.

I took it out twice on the weekend and it did not leak one bit. Should I be concerned about this? Or can I consider this a permanent fix? It is in a spot that I can easily monitor.

any advice would be appreciated, I have been feeling very dumb over this lol.

 

[kingblazer84]

@Lineman11 do you have a picture of the hole and location?

 

[Lineman11]

I don’t have a pic before I repaired it. It is just below the swim deck

 

[Pineapple Express]

Your repair sounds sufficient to be considered permanent.

 

[casper5280]

My only concern would be corrosion from dissimilar metals. If a small hole and easy to get to why not just weld it in and be done with it. For a short term fix it will be fine.

 

[Alex_c]

I’d recommend a sealed aluminum pop rivet (and some 5200 if you want). They come in both aluminum and steel shanks. The steel shanks have better holding power, but you need to seal them after installation to avoid corrosion

Or you could install a hammered in style rivet if you have access to both sides.

These are DIY fixes. The best bet would be to get it filled by a TIG welder, but if it’s a painted area that might be more work than it’s worth.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Weld it then your done. No more stress about whether it's going hold etc.