Don, You use a syringe and thicken the resin so it will not flow out. It works well and worth buying a box of syringes since they can be hard to reuse and are cheap.

I am sorry but epoxy does not shrink more the vinyl ester resin. Poly and vinyl ester both have styrene and vinyl has more, which keep the resin useable, then most of the styrene evaporates (what you smell) and then it shrinks by volume. It is different for each resin and some high-end vinyl will be better if you add DMA. But those are high elongation resins that most people will not spend the money for to repair boats.

G-10 tube is a great idea and it really does not matter if you go from top or bottom, the compression will be on the tube. And if done properly it will not leak, this adds a lot of time to filling holes but is the best method. On boat builds when we go from bottom if deck is still upside down, and if the deck is on the boat we go from top. This is a critical thing to do with honeycomb cores. As I said best practice, but not really needed with balsa core.

One other point if you do use epoxy, which I would not recommend, is to be aware of amine blush. This is a haze that appears on the surface of cured epoxy. It needs to be washed off with soap, water, and 3m pad. The flushed with water, if not what ever you put on there will peal off. There are some major boat builders who did not do this and then, well, major structural problems.

Best of luck Don, and enjoy the process. These are our babies.

:: Thanks everyone for the great input and suggestions.
:: This timely for me as well as I am filling holes as
:: well.
::
:: My question is how do you inject the vinyl ester in from
:: the bottom? Easy to understand the tubes and placing in
:: the oversize hole but do you let it dry and then fill in
:: around or do you even fill it in? Is it possible for a
:: scanned hand sketch?
::
:: Thanks!
::
:: :: Well....I'm glad to see that another E-27 is in the same
:: :: boat as me!!! I also need to do a bunch of rebedding and
:: :: this info is very useful...
::
:: :: A. I had no idea that epoxy shrinks...I thought only
:: :: Bondo shrunk and products that use a cream hardener...
::
:: :: B. The G-10 also makes great sense for compression.
:: ::
:: :: My big problem is that I still need to figure out what
:: :: hardware is going back on :)
:: ::
:: ::
:: :: Thanks for sharing your trials and tribulations, etc. I
:: :: almost feel like I have joined some type of fraternity
:: :: here!!!
:: ::
:: :: Best Regards,
:: ::
:: :: Pete
:: ::
:: :: :: Hi all,
:: :: ::
:: :: :: I've removed all the hardware from my deck and am about
:: :: :: to over-drill, fill, and re-drill.
:: :: ::
:: :: :: I'm wondering if anybody has some good tips on how to
:: :: :: keep the expoxy from dripping through the holes and into
:: :: :: the interior.
:: :: ::
:: :: :: Taped on wax paper under the hole? Wait until epoxy is a
:: :: :: thick consistency? Use thickeners?
:: :: ::
:: :: :: I'd love to not have to learn this one the hard way ;-)
:: :: ::
:: :: :: Thanks
:: :: ::
:: :: :: Bryan