haliman":ikjg50xu said:
I was told by the factory the new boats are all fiberglass in that area so that would be great if my 2008 is that way also. Won’t need to worry about sealing the core right?
I think I already mentioned this in a previous thread, but I would guess your boat is cored in that area. Not that I would bet on it (although if I were forced to bet I would say there is core there). My boat had about 3/8" of balsa core there.
For the through-hull length, part of it depends on the seacock (etc.) you are going to mount on it. One way I have done it is to order one that is plenty long, then after I get the hole drilled, put the through hull in place, then add the backing block, and then screw the seacock on. See how much exposed thread you have left over between the seacock body and the hull/backing plate (i.e. the amount that "won't thread on"), mark it, and cut just a bit more than that off the end of the through hull after you dismantle them again. If you thread the nut onto the through hull, you can use that to clean the threads (the seacock will replace the nut). That way you know it will be plenty long but not too long.
I would say mine was around 3/4" to 7/8" total (hull bottom, core, top skin), but that's just a guess, and I don't know how consistent they were anyway.
Dealing with the core can seem like a bit of a pain, but on a cored boat there will always be similar tasks, so unless you never work on it yourself at all, my feeling is that you might as well just lay in supplies and get a routine going. After a while it just becomes something you do. It is a bit fussy if you take the time to do a neat job, but it's not difficult (although sure, it would be nice not to have to do it at all).