2-part underwater epoxy putty

[jalmberg]

The Pardeys are always talking about a 2 part, underwater epoxy putty that can be used for emergency underwater repairs. This stuff can cure underwater, in other words.

I'll be darned if I can find such stuff. Can anyone give me a pointer?

[wizbang 13]

I've got a pint kit, 2 half pint cans. Been in my bilge for 25 years. Petit POLYPOXY 7055 underwater patching compound.Have not seen it on shelves for a long time.

[johngsandusky]

I haven't tried it underwater, but I would think that epoxy plumbers putty would do that.

[SchoonerRat]

http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PLP1394-K1&Category_Code=epoxyseagoin

This stuff was wonderful last time I used it. I don't know if the EPA has has ruined it or not.

[Ian McColgin]

There's at least a dozen propriatary epoxies that set underwater. Some are in sticks with one part rolled around the other so you just cut off a bit from the loaf, kneed it in your fingers and stick. Others come in jars and can be mixed in the jar (space in the larger resin part is always left) or on a board and are usually a bit less stiff than the log type.

While some epoxies set up better underwater and some grap a wet surface and displace water better, all epoxies I've used manage to set up underwater. The thing is epoxies designed for underwater use really do grab better.

My emergency kit has common lead flashing (used for around chimneys and gutters and such with conventional shingle houses and roofs) and some elephant s#!t for the hard chance. On a wood hull I have drilled a ring of holes for tacks, goobered on the elephant s#!t, and gone over the side to place and tack it on. On glass and steel hulls, I just goobered and then once under the hull tapped from the center out, squeezing out excess goop and making a good suction fit.. That actually held after being given a few hours at rest to set up good.

One one boat with a bunch of 1/2" holes where the fastenings to a group of broken floors had pulled right through the planks from outside to in (YOIKS!), we had great inside access and it was hard to see all those holes from outside anyway, so we mixed the elephant s#!t on small plywood patches and drywall screwed them over the holes. It worked and once we hauled the boat a week later there were these cool extruded bits of epoxy looking like worms hanging off the bottom.

At least one log type and a small jar of the softer stuff should be on every boat. Essential tool.

Find a reason to use each at the end of one year and get new for the next year. I don't know the life span of these things - I have certainly used stuff from fresh containers that was about a decade old - but I believe that it's like keeping your pyrotechnics to date -- good karma if nothing else.

G'luck

[ssor]

The logs at plumbing supply shops are about an inch in diameter and 8-10 inches long. I have cut a piece kneaded it and stuck it to a leaking cast iron drain with permanent results. It is about the consistancy of well chewed bubble gum.
Edit to add: they will keep in the kit for years.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Marine tex will cure underwater, and the stuff Ian described too. Epoxies are not water soluable, and do not cure based on atmosphere, it is a chemical catalytic process for the most part.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Theres that splashzone stuff... I think interlux makes it.

-Thad

[Chris-on-the-Boat]

The splash zone that comes in two tins, one yellow putty and one black putty, is pretty magical stuff. Most old wood boats in our fleet carry it, and it lasts for years and years. Mix equal parts, keep your hands wet when mixing it, and once it becomes a uniform greenish color you have about 15 minutes to work. I've used borrowed tins of it that were over ten years old, where the can was so rusty you could barely get it open. When you're offshore there's no substitute.

It's also frequently used to make temporary patches in fuel tanks, dry and wet exhaust lines, etc. I've even seen get-home repairs to rudder quadrants and water pumps. Handy stuff.