Bondo:  Here it is, just as I found it.  The dark areas are waterlogged and soft, the darker spots are where water is actually leaking out, the really dark spot in the upper right-hand corner is where I started peeling it away with my fingers. 

News Flash!

Don't use automobile body filler below the water line! 

Rule number one when doing hull repairs - No short cuts below the water line, ever.  Someone was obviously trying to save some money and time on this repair, and it shows.

In the next picture you can see a pocket where water had leached up behind the repair and settled in until I set it free.

In the third picture you can see that the old repair is just about removed and all the is metal primed.  Get ready for some fiberglass work.

Fixing it Correctly:  There are a lot of options when considering a hull repair Polyester, Vinylester, Fiber Glass, Epoxy Filler... there are probably others.  Some better - some worse; it depends on the application, location and size of the repair.  After talking to a few folks that have been doing this for a living, here in the boat yard, as well as a little internet research, the consensus (if there is such a thing in boat repair) is that it is best to use a material that is most similar to what is already there.  So it was clinched, I was destined to become proficient in fiberglass repair.  Again, using the resources at hand, locals in the boat yard, I was convinced to go with the West System. 

Being a rank amateur, this system seemed to offer the best chance of success, in my opinion.  Simply remove the top of the can, insert the pump in accordance with the instructions and the epoxy resin nearly mixes itself.  Make sure you mix it in small quantities, the warmer the air temperature the smaller the batch you should mix.  Being in the heat of Florida, I mixed it with one pump out of each can.  Mix it, apply it, then repeat the process as required.  With the ease that the pumps delivered a perfectly proportional mix every time, this was not a burden or a hindrance.

I started using a chopped glass blanket, cutting the sizes I needed and applying.  Chopped glass has one good property, it's pretty cheap, but it doesn't like turning corners, and once it comes in contact with something sticky (basically everything once you get started with the resin) it pulls apart and makes quite a mess.  I changed up and went with the woven cloth glass blanket.  It's much more expensive, but worth it, as it is much easier to work with, especially in the curvy/angled area I was repairing. 

Fiberglass work is much more time consuming than I had initially thought.  What I thought would take a couple of days ended up taking a couple of weeks.  Anyway, one piece at a time, little by little the hole got smaller and smaller.  Once filled, I coated the repair with Interlux Watertite Epoxy Filler and faired it.  Note:  Watertite Epoxy Filler is similar to Bondo but designed specifically for applications below the water line.

Note:  There seems to be some play in the shaft, time to do some research.  The fun never ends.

The Cost:

Epoxy resin: $80.00

Hardener: $32.00

 Pump Kit for Epoxy & Hardener: $11.00

Chopped fiberglass blanket:  $13.00

Woven fiberglass blanket X 2:  $70.00

Containers, brushes, mixing sticks, etc: $20.00

Watertite Epoxy Filler:  $30.00

Grand Total: $256.00 and a couple of hours a night for two weeks in labor.

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