I agree with Dale. Re-drill the hole even bigger, put some tape on the inside and fill it with epoxy. Then drill again. This will actually be stronger than just drilling through the wood.

> As this project is coming down to the wire I keep encountering little
> problems that are incredibly frustrating!

> I am installing the rudder controls on my double, I carefully drilled the
> holes and now as I am putting the aluminum rudder controls in the boat I
> find that on one side the holes are the slightest bit off and I cannot get
> the screw to thread into the rail. I take my drill (aaaahh!) and make the
> hole a little bit bigger to allow room for the screw to move to the hole
> on the rail. I finally get the thing to thread and the rail onto the hull,
> but now I have a hole that is bigger than my screw, (the shaft, not the
> head) and the rubber O ring gets sucked into the boat. Any suggestions on
> a fix for this problem? A bigger O ring, silicone? Do I need to try and
> fill the hole with epoxy and redrill?

> Thanks, Tom