I left mine and they were all filled anyway once I glassed.

   I now mine.  I started using epoxy filet paste, but then in later boats shifted to using standard wood paste filler of matching tone.  Goes on faster, sands faster, dries faster.  Actually only adds a few minutes to the build, and instead of the visible "specs," the stitch holes become nearly invisible.  But then again, as said many times before on the forum - there's no difference once you're 10 ft. away.

One other note: On my NE Dory (first build when I wasn't filling all stitch holes) I had places where stitch holes along the lapstitch joints allowed drip-thru drips in a few places, created during the process of filling the lapstrake seams.  Those drips were a pain to clean up.  In that case, making sure the holes were filled first would have been a good idea.

Yeah, I too was leery enough about wasting time dealing with drips. Felt it appropriate to put tabs of masking tape over stitch holes on hull's outsides when I was working on insides. Especially where holes were in panel laps. Once inner hull'd received at least 1 coat of epoxy I left those lap-seam holes covered while adding filleting to lap joints.

Scraping epoxy I found faster, easier, less prone to damage surrounding wood that hadn't yet been epoxied than sanding, but it was still a PITA so best avoid the drippage if at all possible.

Once outer hull'd been coated I went back, filled holes that looked open with microballoon mix, then sanded flush. Second coat prior to prime, then paint.

On a bright hull I'd wager any unfilled holes'd be imperceptible from even 5' away unless light's perfect to reveal 'em. I used a flashlight while filling mine otherwise I'm certain I'd have missed some. On a painted hull, particularly one painted a light shade, holes'd be more apparent, catch dirt too.

   They will show either way with a bright finish, so it doesn't really matter.  They will definitely show under paint if you don't fill them so that just depends on your personal preference.  I left mine unfilled on the bright inner hull and filled them on the painted outer hill.

On my Eastport pram, the unfilled wire holes were a source of water intrusion, which caused a lot of damage.  On my Passagemaker, I filled them all with wood flour mix.

they should be filled and in most cases that will happen naturally by the glassing process where the hole will fill with epoxy. 

when i have gone the approach of not prefilling, sometimes you can get a little bubble develop..and that potentially becomes like any bubble...a point for water intrusion.. but little bubbles can be picked open and filled with epoxy afterwards if you happen to see them and want to address them.  

i have also prefilled with both epoxy-based as well as store-bought wood filler (as long as it is not oil based).  and both of these have worked as well.   i found the store bought eaier to work with than my own epoxy based paste becuase you have longer working time and it spreads easier with a small spatula and is easier to clean up than epoxy.   prefilling, of course, adds substantial time for filling the holes and dealing with  any excess.  i also find it make a negligble visiual difference compared to not filling the hole in advance. 

the idea above of using tape to prevent the epoxy of running out of holes when you are filling them for the first time (first method)  is one i have also adopted from time to time which has been useful to minimize clean-up sanding that the drips can cause.

h    

   An idea I had much too late for my SW Dory was to glue toothpicks into the holes then sand them off before the first epoxy coat.  I am going to build a Kayak at some point, will try it then.  Anybody have any experience trying something like that?

it works too...still hard to get a color match....and a litte bit of sanding work on both sides is needed.  i found it more work relative to an latex/water based wood putty without a substantially better result.

i would experiment with a couple approaches maybe on a test piece and see what you think

h   

Rich,  it worked great for this (trying to post a pic through my iPhone.  We'll see if it works)

   Well, maybe you can look here:  https://flic.kr/p/oURkcm

I kinda like the porupine look.  Has a nice "don't tread on me" effect, you think?  <;-)

.....Michael

My Skerry (back in 2015)

Every hole!