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carsondoc
04-18-2004, 11:56 AM
Does anyone have any advice (do's/don't's) for drilling/cutting holes in fiberglass? I'm installing a wake plate and guage. I'll need to cut/drill a 2" hole for the guage and a variety of 3/8"-9/16" holes in the transom for the wake plate. Don't want to crack or chip the gelcoat or do a sloppy job. Thanks for the help.

lowdrag
04-18-2004, 05:26 PM
Make sure to put tape around the area you need to drill and then drill through the tape. This will help with cracking and make a cleaner whole. I believe most people just use duct tape for this. Same thing for the 2" hole, except find the center and start a pilot hole with a smaller drill bit before you use your cut out bit.

DOCDRS
04-18-2004, 08:09 PM
for the smaller holes put the drill in reverse to go thru the gel coat to prevent cracking. Ive used a drill lauger than the final diameter to bevel the gel coat about 1/16 to 1/8
inch deep then drill my hole size thru the fibreglass in forward direction. not sure about the larger hole but would suggest going backwards untill thru gellcoat and slowly like suggested by carsondoc and tape and pilot re lowdrag.

carsondoc
04-19-2004, 10:35 PM
Thanks to all. I really appreciate your help.

Keaton
04-20-2004, 11:36 AM
After you drill the hole. bevel the edges so you dont have cracks starting from sharp edges.