How to cut hole

[spharis]

How do you cut a hole with a holesaw and prevent the gelcoat from cracking? I plan on cutting a 2 inch hole in my rear hull for my marine remote, and I know the gel is going to crack. I cut out the dash with a Dremel via a drill jig, and also a carbide cutter and the drill chipped the gel some....the carbide was not as bad, but there is no way I will ever get a nice circle with a Dremel.

Should I score the gel with a knife first? Hole saws are not known foravailability in high tooth count to help withthe chipping.

[harv]

Run the drill in reverse long enough to get a good, deep score then run the drill in forward to finish the job. Nice and easy is a good rule.

This worked for me anyway.

[mtnsmith]

I have always put masking tap over the area to be cut as well. Don't know if it truly helps, but I read it in one of the boat us magazines once in an article about installing new thru hulls

[spharis]

Cool thanks guys....if I can break free from programming side jobs, Im going to give the masking tape and reverse technique a go.....I figure if all fails, I can expand my knowledge of boat repair by learning to fix gelcoat.........

[lee]

Just run the drill slow until you are through the gelcoat.