Thanks for the advice Richard. I'm way ahead of you on the coating of the holes, I did take some of the fiberglass resin and coated the bare fiberglass using a Q-tip before I assembled everything. Just forgot to mention it in my steps. As for putting the silicone in the tunnel, I didn't think of that but it sounds like a good idea. I should probably seal the bolt holes too. A couple other things I did but forgot to mention, I made a thin backing plate out of the same plastic for the backside of the mount. I didn't like the thought of tightening the nuts down into bare fiberglass. Also, the spot that I drilled through came out a little too close to the PVC pipe on the underside that the wires run through, so I had to do a little trimming on the end of the pipe. If you are putting a mount in the same area watch for that! And one more thing, I made a cork gasket that I put between the spacer and the top cap for a little more cushion/padding. Yes, I am somewhat anal! Spring has arrived in Illinois FINALLY..gonna be 70 tomorrow. Can't wait to see bass cruising the shallows!