Looking slightly like a pin cushion, BB with the new plugs in place.

The search for the holy grail...

That is what it has felt like, trying to find a 7/16th" plug cutter. Drilling out the old plugs to reveal the screws into the ribs was easy, just carefully drill the centre of the old plug with a 10mm drill bit and then use a sharp screwdriver to dig out any bits of the old plug.
You then have a clear run at removing the bronze screws that go through the boats planking into the ribs. Easy.

It wasn't until I had drilled out 450 plugs that I started the search for the correct sized plug cutter. And what a search it has been. Plug cutters turned up in almost every size, apart from the size we needed of course. Our local hardware suppliers were tried, then some further afield, no joy.

Next on the list came the specialist tool suppliers, some of whom did not even know what a plug cutter was! No success there either.

Chandlers, yes, boat people would know what I wanted. Wrong, they knew what we needed but could not supply one. David Moss boatbuilders at Skipool Creek had one of their own which they had made, it was offered on loan but I still wanted to have one in the tool box.

Plugs cut from an old mahogany board.

In addition to our search we tried to create a 7/16th" cutter by machining a 3/8th" cutter out to the required size. The cutter walls were so thin it tore itrself to pieces on the first attempt at cutting a plug.

Searching the internet provided some more possible sources, two of the sites I contacted were trade only and would not supply me. This was begining to become frustrating. Watercraft magazine also tried to help but none of the suppliers they suggested could help either.

Holiday time arrived and Liz and I took off for the west coast of Scotland, staying in a cottage in Kilmartin Glen. We did not select the best period for weather so touring around in the car was one of our options. Liz had never seen the Crinan Canal which turns the Kintyre pennisular into an island so we drove out to see this remarkable engineering feat.

Cakes and coffee at Crinan was a temptation and as we drove along the single track road to Crinan we passed the Crinan boat yard. A light was shining in their chandlers shop, why not, it won't hurt to ask.

7/16th" plug cutter, yes we can get one of those for you. Andrew promised to check that they could get one and phone me on my return to home. Yes, it existed. It arrived by post and two days later the plugs were all cut from one of BB's old boards.

Another day later and the plugs were all glued in and we even managed to sand a few down to see the finished result. Great, just as if we had never drilled out the orignal plugs.

Just like new.