I feel the end pour serves a structural purpose. If all you want is a place to put a rope, the tubing idea is probably lighter and plenty strong enough for tying the boat to the car.

I try to avoid running head-long into rock cliffs, but admit I have done so. While I have never hit too hard, this kind of impact can put a lot of stress on the joint between the deck and the hull. I have also ended up suspended between two rocks by the very tips of my kayak. This was essentially trying to peel the deck off the hull. I feel the rather minor annoyancy of pouring a little goop in the end is a small price to pay to protect that joint.

: What exactly is the reason or purpose of the end pour? Strength, Solidity or
: just a place to drill for rope-pull hole? If it's just a spot to drill,
: why couldn't you dam the end a few inches, fill with Micro-Balloons or
: something like foam, and in so doing, have extra floatation, and possibly
: a little flex in the ends. It wouldn't seem that the rope pull would cause
: so much stress that you need solid wood or epoxy surrounding it. Putting a
: predrilled dowel, as I believe Ross did,into the holes and the covering of
: glass and epoxy outside would seem to be plenty strong and a bit lighter
: in weight. ???

: Rehd