: I didn’t realize this was part of your reasoning for the end pour.

: I don’t bother trying to reach to seam the stem tips anymore on my boats. I
: just apply thickened resin on the deck/hull joint for the first 18” and
: tape in place and do the same at the other end. As long as all wood is
: coated you’re golden. I can reach in after my deck is taped in place with
: a fillet tool on the end of a stick and smooth the resin. The outside stem
: seams will be glassed anyway. No real reason to glass seam the deck/hull
: joint on the stems interior.

As I've related before, I have found myself swinging over the water supported by the extreme tips of my boat . This puts a huge force right in the area of the deck/hull joint. I have also been pushed by surf end-on into rock cliffs. Several of my boats have crushed end points from this particular mistake. I don't recommend doing this, but if you think you might be dumb enough to end up in similar situations, you would probably be happy for all the end reinforcement available.

I have debated the necessity of the interior tape with myself, and generally agree, it is probably overkill. If I were going for a truly lightweight racing boat, I might consider eliminating the inner tape altogether. After all if the boat survives the race without damage it is probably overbuilt. But for a rough and tumble, everyday, abuse-it-badly kayak, I think reinforcement as far along the inner seam as possible is a reasonable bit of insurance. Failure of the deck/hull joint is not unheard of in fiberglass boats.

: You don’t drill through strips? You don’t need to seal the strip edges
: exposed? Com’on Nicky, we’re fibbin now.

Sure, I drill through the strips, but they are right there in plain view and easy to see and seal. Any water penetration is immediately evident if you do miss something. When I have drilled into wood where I can't see it, I will drill the hole oversize, fill it completely with epoxy and then redrill, both for reinforcement of the wood and to assure the wood grain is completely sealed. I mount my footbraces in this way: drill oversized, fill, redrill. In boats where I have not done this, I tend to see water penetration within a few years.

: My next set of wood blocks (teeny tiny ones) will definitely be lighter than
: an end pour, no question.

It is just a question of density. I contend I can make epoxy as low density as wood. Therefore a filler of the same size will weight the same amount. Besides we are both talking very small amounts of material here. Even the worst case weight difference is a matter of an ounce or two.

BTW, if you are only using the wood for a place to drill a hole, how about a disk right where the hole is, or a tube through the boat. You could make a wooden tube that would show like an escutchen around the hole and look real slick.