I'm planning to insert a short peice of copper pipe into a hole through my hull to carry the rope for a grab handle. I have spade bits, forstner bits, and some old auger bits that go with a brace. Which should I use? I have visions of the drill bit I use causing the fiberglass to tear out and separate from the plywood. It one bit better than another at getting a nice clean hole?

The spade bits are great for rough holes in studs. I imagine the long prongs on a spade bid would cut well through the fiberglass and into the wood long before the rest of the bit would make contact with the plywood. I'm afraid the spade bits would be a little rough though.

The forstner bits are great for use in a drill press. Could I hand drill with one and not dance the bit all along the side of the hull? They don't have much of a center prong to guide them.

The auger bits have sharp side prongs to make a clean hole and go nice and slow. My only concern with them is that they have a threaded tip in the middle that pulls them through the material. My endpour is pretty small, and there's a good chance I'll miss it. That would leave the auger bit with nothing to thread into once it breaks through the 1/4 inch plywood hull. That may or may not cause problems.

After typing out this e-mail, I'm leaning toward the spade bits, even though I think they can be a little rough.

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions?

Thanks.
-Dan