holes everywhere

so i sail an older hobie with unknown number of previous owners. well, said owners have drilled and attached many fixtures to the al bars. i am currently removing those fixtures, to start tabula rasa, and curious about the rivet and screw holes. should i let them be or fill them? if the consensus is to fill, with what? thanks-

byron
hc16

If you wanted to fill the holes use JB Weld. But the filling would only be cosmetic. The only way to do a structural repair would be to weld the holes closed. Structurally there is probably not an issue here.

Hobie Masts, crossbars & wings are heat treated & anodized aluminum. Very difficult to weld. I would avoid welding as welding even after pre heating the aluminum will leave a heat affected zone and the area will be weaker that the rest of the structure. JB weld or a colorfiller of some type is your best bet.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

Holes in your aluminum should be filled. Water that enters can cause trouble for you when you capsize or turtle (imagine trying to right a boat with a mast that is COMPLETELY full of water), and will just plain slow you down other times.

I think your best bet would be to fill the holes with appropriately sized aluminum rivets. Make sure you use plenty of silicon when installing them so that they seal well.