Roger Long wrote:
Well, the hole in this discussion is already there.

Yes, and it seems you don't want it there... or you wouldn't be talking
about plugging it up, right?

... The question is
how it get's plugged up. It's either going to get plugged up with
fiberglass or with the existing bronze fitting designed for this
critical service and mechanically locked into the fiberglass by the
flange and nut.

As someone who has been designing boats (including fiberglass ones)
and figuring out how to keep the water out for over a quarter century,
I'm in favor of the latter.

If cost and time were not issues, and I wanted the inside and outside
of the boat to look like nothing was ever there, I would have no
qualms about a properly done fiberglass fill in.

The issue here is "properly done." If you were talking about a temporary
plug, until you are planning to haul the boat later and fiberglass over
the hole, I'd say it's fine to put on a cap or a plug. But in the long
run, it's still much more vulnerable to corrosion or breakage than a
fiberglass patch.

Personally I wouldn't haul the boat *just* to do this one job. If that's
your point, I'm with you.


... This is a case though
where, as an engineering judgement, I think the easy way out is
actually the most reliable by a small margin.


Why? What is "fiberglassing over the hole" vulnerable to? You still
haven't explained that part. And it's certainly not prohibitively
expensive... I did exactly that to an unused thru-hull on our boat

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...73346002sUSTvu

and used probably ten bucks or so worth of stuff... of course I do a
fair amount of fiberglass & epoxy work and buy the materials cheaply.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King