The problem with big holes is that they suck up a lot of epoxy, deteriorating the seal. My first S&G made with non-marine plywood had comparably sized stitch holes and developed black spots where the water got in. So big holes need to be puttied up or sealed off otherwise well.

Henk

: After building a Night Heron Single and a Night Heron Double with no staples
: and some very complicated clamping arrangements, I decided to make life
: easier for myself on my third kayak.
: As I don't have a stapler, I settled on the crude but effective method of
: nailing anything to the forms if it looked as if it might move.
: I knew from experience that dents could be significantly reduced in timber by
: carefully applying moist heat.
: After I removed the nails, I tried both methods of swelling the timber around
: the hole. On some I used my wife's iron with a damp cloth and on others I
: applied a couple of drops of water and used the heat gun. Both methods
: were equally effective.
: The sequence of photos shows 1) the nail, 2) the hole, 3) after swelling and
: planing and 4) after glassing.
: I think the last photo is the same hole. It took me a while to find it.
: I would expect that because staples are so much thinner than the nails I was
: using, the same technique would make the staple holes near enough to
: invisible.
: I might have to get myself a stapler.