I know soft spot repairs have been covered extensively in these forums, but I haven't seen a solution to my problem yet so I am creating a new post. I have two soft spots on the deck of one hull of my new 1981 H16 I am restoring. Started going through the steps of a typical soft spot repair, ie drilling injection and ventilation holes through the first layer of glass and the foam. I did the first soft spot with no problems, and gave the drill to my dad so he could do the second spot. I shouldn't have done that - the first ventilation hole he drilled, he went straight through both layers of glass. So now, I need to figure out how to fill the spot without the Git-Rot flowing straight into the hull.
I know the "proper" solution would probably be to install an inspection port so I can put a few layers of glass inside the hull. However, I will do anything to avoid doing this for a little 1/8" hole - it would probably prevent me from sailing this season. Given that, does anyone have any ideas for an easy fix? I have thought of 2 possible solutions, but want to see if anyone can think of something better.
Solution 1: plug the hole with something (maybe a wooden dowel or something similar) while I fill the spot. Once everything is done, I could remove the dowel and cover the hole with tape, then quickly flip the hull upside down. At that point, I'd use a small injector to puncture the tape and inject a lot of Git Rot up into the hole, and leave it upside down while the Git Rot dried. Then the hole in both layers of glass and foam would essentially be filled with pure Git rot.
Solution 2: Plug the hole with cotton or a rolled up layer of fiberglass tape or mat. Proceed with Git Rot injection as normal; when it got to the cotton/glass, it would saturate it but the cotton/glass would stay in and act as a plug to keep the Git Rot from flowing to the inside of the hull. I would still turn the hull upside down to dry, and the cotton/glass would end up acting as filler.
_________________ Washington, DC/Port Tobacco, MD 1981 Hobie 16
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