The nine holes the lad drilled with whatever could have been drilled to start or spring the hull planking. If that was done at the for'd end of the planks, the flow of water over the hull would assist in tearing the hull open. The ship would founder and founder quickly, if she was at action stations, the Captain of the ship would have to take men away from sailing the ship, and manning her armament to man the pumps.

Charley: "...if that cabinboy had succeeded in drilling a hole beneath the Golden Vanity's waterline, he would have been drown by the bilge water pouring out! Vile stuff, that bilge water."

If that were the case the "Golden Vanity" was already in major trouble. For the bilge water to flow out of the hull the head of water inside the hull would have to be greater than the head of water outside.

The "Royal George" sank off Portsmouth (Spithead Naval Anchorage in the Solent), not Plymouth, in 1782. She was heeled over to make repairs to hull damage, this was done by moving cannon from the starboard side to the port side of the vessel. Structural failure in severely rotten framing due to the additional weight caused the vessel to sink. She was partially salvaged in 1840 by divers using early versions of the Seibe deep diving dress and helment (the forerunner of Standard Diving Gear)