: They look great! Now just mail them to me so I'll have them for my next
: kayak.

: When you drill the hole in the kayak be very careful because you only get one
: shot at it. You might try to clamp a guide block on the side of the kayak
: to help guide the forstner bit. I usually like to drill a hole from each
: side and then make them bigger and bigger to pull them straight, but the
: problem is that the pilot tip of the forstner bit is almost non-existant.

: When I drilled mine, I made a real small pilot hole from each side, and only
: reamed them a little bigger. Then I drilled with the forstner from each
: side (the outside needs to be right). If the holes wouldn't have lined up
: perfectly I could have pulled them together on the inside of the kayak,
: then the outside holes would be round and the middle of the holes would
: have been oval. It wouldn't matter since it will get filled with resin
: anyway.

: Another easy way would be to fiberglass tape the seams of the kayak, drill
: and install the pipes (make sure the pipes are sealed with resin so the
: water from the bucket won't get in), and then do the end pours.

: If you dig through Ross' site he details how he installed the pipes on one of
: his kayaks.

: Dale

Hi Dale,

I only used the forstner bit for the pipe hole, 7/8". I will use a 1 1/4" steel hole saw to cut through the haul and they come with several dia cutters. The kind at Wal-Mart that look like a round hacksaw blade with a 1/4" drill extending out from the center. The extended 1/4" center drill will inter the pilot hole hole before the saw teeth start cutting the big hole. Then with 1/4" pilot drill holes located on each side of the haul, I will try to hold the drill 90 degrees to the boat center line to make a round hole rather then an oval one. I made the pipes slightly bigger then 1 1/4 so I have a little bit of safty just in case something goes wrong. I have Ross's site bookmarked so I will take a look. Thanks for the sizes of your pipes. I would have made them way too big.

John