Want
to plug that puncture hole in the boat hull?
Try a product I call "PigPutty".
I have been looking
for something to carry on the boat, should I ever poke a hole below
the waterline. One product I found, through a family member, seemed
to have the right characteristics. I was interested in ease of use,
how much do I get for the money, cure time, and the expected shelf life.
Enter "PigPutty".
No, that is not really the name - but it sounded good, right? The product
is called "PIG® Wet Surface Repair Putty" and costs about
$14.00 for two 7" tubes. Not knowing what a 7" tube was, I
figured it was about the diameter of a No. 2 pencil. I contacted my
inside connection (my niece) and asked a couple of techical questions.
Here are the responses:
"Can
the wet surface putty be used to repair a sailboat (i.e. saltwater)
= YES.
In fact
the formula for the wet repair putty enables a longer curing time
under water (the standard repair putty may cure too quickly, thus
not providing a tight seal on all points of contact, etc.). The wet
surface repair putty was designed with this application in mind and
should work quite nicely for repairing sailboats (including the fiberglass
surfaces).
Flatten
a tube to 1/8" thick, how much area does this cover? =
134 square inches.
A 7"
stick is a cylinder. Using the volume of a cylinder, we can calculate
the volume which gives 16.38 cubic inches. Then divide by 1/8"
to get square inches = 134 square inches. This would be tough to do
in practice (to get an even 1/8" all over), but in theory, that's
how much area he would get."
One stick would completely
cover a hole patch of nearly one foot square. With a couple of sticks,
some plywood paneling, and a couple hours of cure time, you have the
makings of a hull redesign.
I have not actually tested
this product. And don't want to, but I do want to be prepared. If you
are interested, visit http://www.idigpig.com/
and click on the Hobbies... >Boating link on the left side.
If you order, please mention Squeal # E280
so my niece gets credit for the sales lead.
Note: I have known about
this company, especially for their NewPig Hazardous Material containment
products, for many years.
9 April 2003
Mike Hembrey
Tampa Bay
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