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My screw holes for the little mirror covers and lights are worn out, and won't hold any longer. Short of going to a larger size screw, what alternative backings have you guys tried with ease and success?

For light stuff I have screwed through a piece of strong white tape stuck on the ceiling successfully

Any kind of epoxy putty will fill the hole and then spray your screws with wd-40 or like product, screw them in the holes until it sets.....back them out and then install your stuff. Use a dab of silicon on the screws when putting them back in to keep them from backing out.

Ahh so you were serious, and I thought this was a vgra-xd joke

Rotate the cover. Drill new holes.

Dave

I bet you just peeved off a w hole lot of admirals

As for the loose or was that large holes just mix up some epoxy resin wait untill it is just ready to set & brush it into the holes you now have virgin holes to drill out what size you want

John

Toothpicks work great to fill a hole. Just break of at the depth you need and depending how much bigger the hole is add more toothpicks. I have used this for years and it works great and they are free. Every restaurant gives them away.

hamshog wrote:Toothpicks work great to fill a hole.

That's often what I do, too, except that I epoxy the toothpicks in the hole, using as many as it takes to fill the hole firmly... once it's hardened I just slice off the excess outside the hole with a sharp Xacto knife and then drill a small pilot hole for the new screw.

Yeah, if it's the gel coat, just plug it with Marine Tex, clean it up and let it dry, then redrill.

I have the same problem with not only the mirror on the starboard side but also my electrical panel on the port side.

I have tried making a "frame" out of a thin piece of plywood that I painted. Have it on both sides of the fiberglass so the screw now goes through the electrical panel into the thin board, then through the fiberglass and into the backside thin board. Worked okay for the electrical panel but it doesn't quite fit flush with the fiberglass. I got the board from the base woodworking shop. It was a scrap piece so I am not sure exactly what it is. It is about 1/4" thick.

May have to try it on the mirror as well.

Jim

Richard,

You might want to consider some automotive clip fasteners available at any hardware store. Here are some: JC Whitney
I used some on the electrical panel and if the screw hole is near the edge of the cutout it's pretty easy. They can also be glued behind your screw hole (not use the clip function). The method of putting grease on the screw to have something to hold it until the glue sets works well. If you do this make sure it's glued well: if it breaks loose it's a hassle to get it to unscrew.

You could also put a thin piece of plywood as a backing to screw into. I like the liner setup on the M (it's only on the top part of the interior) because it's easy to just push a piece of wood up under the liner from the bottom anywhere and have something solid to screw into.

Daniel

Agree that the clip fasteners would work well, but they are highly prone to rust in a marine environment, and may leave stains in the fiberglass that will bleed through. If they only offered them in stainless!

Good idea on the plywood, and it occurs to me that a thin slice of Starboard would work even better as it is not prone to rot. Either way, it should be epoxied behind the hole to prevent turning later when you try to remove the screw.

Now, if you want to really do it right, you could consider using either "Rawl-nuts" (also known as "Rub Nuts" (no laughing please) or "Well Nuts"), which is a rubber block with a brass threaded insert, that when tightened expands and grips to the hole:




.....or go with a more solid mounting, using "Versa-Nuts", which expand in back and make a broad, tight hold in fiberglass.



Either may be overkill, but it's a slick way to mount heavy stuff to fiberglass.

I like Rawl-nuts better because they offer some vibration cushioning and they are removable and reusable. Plus, because they reduce vibration they also help prevent stress cracking of the fiberglass.

drill out the hole in question to 12 mm. Epoxy a piece of 12mm dowel in hole. Sand back so it is flush and Bob's your uncle.

Cheers
Cam

Silicone sealant works just fine. Put some on your screws and back in the holes. Will hold fine. I had the same thing happen. Also had the bolts of the stern rail seats rip out of the fiberglass. Had to use epoxy for that.