Before drilling the hole stick a piece of masking tape over where the hole is to be drilled, this will stop the drill bit skipping across your shiny hull.

Use a new / sharp drill bit, position the bit carefully into the correct position and turn the drill by hand in a counter clockwise direction (backwards) this will slowly and delicately make a neat hole in the gel coat, when you are safely through the gel coat you can use the drill as normal to complete the hole. Do not remove the drill bit from the hole whilst the drill is still turning……wait for the bit to stop and then carefully reverse the bit out of the hole by hand

Its a laborious process but you only get one chance to drill a hole in fiberglass.

I usually cut slots by first of all covering the work area with masking tape (see above) and then making a series of holes following the line of the slot using a drill of a slightly smaller diameter and then carefully joining the holes together with a side cutting router (put the bit in the drill if you don't have a router) or join the holes together with a sharp needle saw.

Paul

No problem Dave I'm glad to help

Good luck with the build and don't be afraid to ask if you get stuck.

Paul

Dave Wooley is absolutely correct about wearing a suitable face mask / goggles and it was remiss of me not to include the advice when I was rambling on.

A suitable mask would be what is classified as P2 but personally I always use P3 masks and full wrap around goggles. It is also worth noting that this work should be done outdoors.

Paul