The recommended method for making holes in a wood kayak is to drill the hole oversize, then fill it with epoxy (put tape on the backside and fill the hole completely), then drill your hole thru the epoxy plug after it's cured. But since you're short on time, just drill the footpeg holes and seal the end of the woodgrain by swabbing some epoxy on with a Q-tip to prevent water damage. I did this on my carry-toggle holes and it words fine. Reinforcements on the inside of the hull won't be necessary. Most people who use footpeg reinforcement plates do so for the reason I did it -- to mount the footpegs so that the screw heads aren't visible. Purely an aesthetic thing. The standard bolt-thru-the-hull is probably stronger even without reinforcement. Dean