: I have no doubt the oversized, epoxy-filled holes are strong, but
: they are also more work than unnecessary and slightly unsightly.
: Simply make each hole the final desired size and give it two
: coats of epoxy, sanding lightly between coats. My 7 and 8 year
: old boats are still perfect with this simple approach.

: John

Hmmm, well simple in the short run at least, and only marginally.

One of the wood kayak long term issues that I see at gatherings is water intrusion at hatch and fitting edges. Water stains are essentially forever, and ugly. It's devilishly difficult to know if a couple layers of resin has provided enough of a barrier to long term abrasion and sand accumulation that often occurs at these locations. Keeping resin where you want it on a vertical surface is not easy, typically gets real thin at the top corner, and can require several visits as the coat cures to keep pushing the resin back where you want it. I find it less annoying and time consuming to just fill a larger opening and drill later to the size I want. Yes, I have to drill twice. But I can fill with thickened epoxy and just walk away. There is no messing around with thin epoxy that wants to run out of the hole and sanding between coats in a tiny location. Concerns about water stains at these weak spots is abolished forever. To my eye the end look appears more elegant and intentional and less like an afterthought.

Ted