Fiberglass repair guy poured an inch and half of resin and filler into bilge

[skullone]

Had a new transom put in (floor and stringers are out too - but not going back to this guy)
But, in the process, he poured literally like 1.5 inches of resin/wood filler into the bilge, filling it up to the drain plug hole covering it up.
He purposefully did it, saying "its to reinforce it" - but the hull there was fine, and I know its not right

But, the question - how the heck do I remove it? It's all accessible, as the motor, floor and stringers are out. But it's like an inch and a half of concrete. Do I just live with it, patch the old drain plug on the outside of the hull, and make a new one at the bilge level at this point? I can't think of a way to really grind it out, without likely risking going through the hull possibly, let alone the effort to properly remove it all and the mess.

It's an old 1970's Fiberform tri-hull - I'll post pictures of the overall restoration (has new top and bottom paint - 70's bright green and glossy), and I'll be doing stringers and floor and upholstery next, will be fun to share that progress here!

 

[achris]

If it's not adding an excessive amount of weight to the boat, I'd be tempted to leave it there, and re-plumb the drain hole.

If you do need to get it out, maybe drill a LOT of holes 1-1/2" deep and knock it out in small chunks. :facepalm:

Either way, that was a bit nasty of that fibre-glasser... Not good at all.

Chris......

 

[tpenfield]

He is a bad, bad man.

It would be best IMO to scuff it up a bit and put a layer of 1708 over it and overlap to the hull a bit. I would also see if you can drill out the original drain hole area so you can re-use it and not have to patch the transom.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would be doing what Ted mentions. drill from the outside in.

use an angle grinder with 24 grit to scuff it up. make sure to wear proper PPE

 

[vetting]

I had the same thing in my boat from the original build between some stringers. It chipped right off with a chisel and hammer blow. Unless the bilge area was sanded and cleaned with acetone, it probably didnt bond that well. Id be worried about leaving it due it eventually cracking and then water getting in the cracks. Just my opinion - but lets see some pictures when you have them.

 

[skullone]

Based on how hard the material is - I doubt I could make any progress trying to remove it, which is a shame... it'd take a crackhead with a grinder a week to remove it.
I did some passes with an oscilating tool and a 40 grit flap disc - barely dents it... I'd love to remove it, but may not be possible at all

 

[kcassells]

Yea I had some on the bottom of the hull from factory and it was a pia. I ended up slicing it into squares with a grinder/metal cutting wheel. Then a hammer/chisel, then more grinding.
No-where as thick as yours. Good luck.

 

[skullone]

I can see a reason for "some" filler in the bilge, say to mount your bilge pump onto or something - but yah, mine is excessive, and clearly not factory.
Also trying to hit the "new user" post minimum so I can attach some pictures

 

[GA_Boater]

I can see a reason for "some" filler in the bilge, say to mount your bilge pump onto or something - but yah, mine is excessive, and clearly not factory.
Also trying to hit the "new user" post minimum so I can attach some pictures

You're there to add pics. I would like to see this. It sounds strange.

If you need help with pics, click on Forum Help in my sig and look at the Photo Tutorial.

 

[skullone]

I made an album on Google drive chronicaling the boat.
A bit of backstory, had a guy repair transom and stringers and floor about 4 years ago, but he did a garbage job so I just sat on the project for a few years.
In that time, some water got back in and re-rotted his work since he didn't seal anything up
But, back to today, all ripped out and I'm going to do it myself.
The linked album starts 4 years ago till today, been quite the ride.

 

[jonesg]

Call me blind but I'm not seeing it.
But I'm sure you'll do a better job.

 

[skullone]

The picture is buried, and with the angle/quality of phone, kinda hard to tell. I didn't even notice at first until I ground out the old motor mounts, and saw the difference in height.
It's this picture in particular - you can see the remnants of the mount, with the mass of filler behind it