M_Boats: Little Squirt

Took Endelig (M-17 #278) out in a bit of wind and chop yesterday and found that the hole through which the centerboard winch line goes was much more active than normal. At times the water would squirt up higher then the open hatch. When the day was over, we had about a half in inch of water sloshing around the cabin floor and the bunks were wet. The winch line hole is a bit bigger than stock as each time work is done on the centerboard it tends to grow. My fix is to fiberglass the hole small again and then put up with the minimal squirting. The captain suggests that we plug the hole with something once the board is lowered. Have any of you with older M-17s dealt with this problem? Thanks, Bill Sylvester Endelig M-17 - #278