Mounting rod holder to fibreglass

[scrob]

Just bought a 3 tube rod holder off eBay same as this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOAT-ROD-HOLDER-V ... 99ab809b4d

It comes with stainless steel screws, but I'm a bit hesitant to drill into the side of my boat Would "No More Nails", "Grip Fix", spoiler glue etc be any use or will I have to drill it?

[JimC]

Not too sure about "No More Nails" but a good PU sealer like "sikaflex" or "tigerseal" shouls don the job. A tidy application along the ribs and tape into position I would think would do the job. It will get a fair torque from rods moving while under way but good PU is amazing.

[scrob]

I've used Sikaflex and Tigerseal before, they cure semi flexible, will try to get my hands on some for the weekend and see how they hold up, cheers. Just reluctant to drill into the fibreglass tbh..!

[janie tyler]

I would no worry about drilling and screwing the rod holder to the boat as for the sikaflex I seen a picture on another forum were a guy was repositing a auxiliary outboard bracket that has been bolted and sealed with sikaflex and when he removed it the sikaflex pulled the gel coat off and made a right mess so a few few screw holes could be the least of you worries.

[slowarm]

No more nails wont work - it says so on the tin. I'm sure your cleats and other fittings are screwed on so why not your rod-holders?

[scrob]

I'm just not too confident drilling the fibreglass - will it take a self tapper? Will the hole need some sort of threading agent or a raw plug to allow the threads to catch?

[JimC]

It will take a tapper. Put some sealer on the tapper. I have secured may things to the glass with PU sealer. If you need to remove it again then a bit of care is required. Maybe self tappers and sealer combination!

[scrob]

Yeah I think a combo of screws and glue is the best bet. I don't like the thought of the load of 4 small screws on a tiny area of fibreglass with the full weight and flex of 3 fishing rods bouncing along bumpy waves. Hopefully the glue will spread the load across the full width of the rod holder to reduce stress on the fibreglass drill holes.

The sikaflex destruction previously mentioned - surely this would have been down to the way it was removed? I can't imagine windscreen bond would dissolve or eat the gel coat on fibreglass?

It's my dad's boat which he bought new a few years ago, so I'm just cautious that any "modifications" are carried out correctly

[scrob]

Well lads I got the rod holder mounted, it was a piece of cake really

6 stainless steel screws and a couple of lines of white "Stix All" bonding. Sorted