congrats on the new boat !....
af far as drilling.....its old school........we never have to drill any more.....science and technoligy has come up with new products, fantastic ways of bonding.
i havent touched a drill in years.
try duct tape
tee hee.....search in the resto forum for several ways of sucesss fully drilling your thru hulls, with little worry of water intrusion or failure
cheers
oops