: Just finished stitching and I feel like I have drilled too many holes in my
: kayak. Looking for some advice on an effective method for filling the
: holes to make them the least noticeable in the finished product. Would a
: little wood putty in a hole before the first coat of epoxy help?

: Thanks for the advice.

Hi Mark

I just finished patching the holes on my S & G Rob-Roy canoe and what I did was mix some Silica, Micro-Balloons and added some redwood sawdust as needed to get the color. I mixed very small batches and so didn't waste much putty as I experimented. I use syringes ( baby medicine type found in the drugstore ) and mix batches by tablespoon for gluing and matching colors. My boat is made of Okoume ply but the dust of the same wood will darken too much when in the resin mixture. The redwood and maybe some pine to tint it. If too dark, some flour or more of the silica, M.B. mix. You can get it really close, and take away the contrast. You probably won't get it perfect as the cut grain around the perimiter of the hole will always show darker than the surounding area. You have to get fairly close to see them though. My problem will be disquising the seam around the middle but I suppose some paint trim will do the trick. Hope this helps!

Rehd