Installing hinges, hardware with foam core?

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by projectboat, Aug 24, 2014.

  1. projectboat
    Joined: Aug 2014
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    Location: Long Island

    projectboat New Member

    I have a half built project boat i recently bought.

    I need to install things like hinges for doors. All sorts of hardware.

    What is the proper way to do thias on a fiberglass boat with a foam core?
     
  2. Ctowles
    Joined: Oct 2013
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    Location: Jackson hole, wy

    Ctowles Junior Member

    Check my thread from a few days ago. I was reccomended coosa board. It's high density urethane foam core with stands and a mat. I'm replacing my core in areas that get fasteners. That's the best way I have found. Ill recieve the coosa this week, but looks good from what I have read.
     
  3. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

  4. Ctowles
    Joined: Oct 2013
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    Location: Jackson hole, wy

    Ctowles Junior Member

    Fair enough, my thread was a little different regarding plascore hatch lids and not foam which can be overdrilled and filled easier. For my application i think the coosa is the right ticket, but this particular problem on this particular boat might be better served by decoring an oversize hold and filling with a thickened high density mix. Other than door hinges he doesnt mention what kind of hardware hes mounting. Some good stuff in those west systems instructionals tho. They are pretty basic but simple and to the point, lots of good info with good illustrations to back it up.
     
  5. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Once you get your head around how "bonding" works, it's fast and much easier, then substituting a high density insert of some sort. I put a piano hinge on a cored deck (hatch) the other week. I laid the hinge down where it needed to live and marked the fastener holes. I drilled holes twice the diameter of the fastener shank and filled each with thickened goo. When this cured, I sand the hole flush and placed the hinge back over the location, remarked the holes and drilled the cured goo for machine bolts. The end result hasn't any impact of areas, not under the hinge (you can't see it), the fasteners have tremendous pull out strength, compared to screws into Coosa or hardwood and it went fast, even waiting for epoxy to cure.
     

  6. u4ea32
    Joined: Nov 2005
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    u4ea32 Senior Member

    At IBEX last year, a guy was demonstrating how just using a good, common, and almost instant drying synthetic glue (not 5200 but I don't remember what it was) worked great to just glue stuff in. No screws, just glue, for most things: hinges, knobs, plumbing and cable routing fixtures, and so on. Not winches or cleats. But just about everything else that goes in a boat that would normally be screwed or nailed.

    It clearly worked, and was WAY cheaper, cleaner, and quicker to do, without any risk of getting water into cores.

    I mean, the entire boat is one big glued together thing. Why trust glue (epoxy, vinyl ester) to hold the entire boat together, but not a door hinge or drawer pull?
     
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