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On 12-Oct-2004, (mccaldwell) wrote:

There is no attachment point
to the deck and I would prefer not to drill a fiberglass boat for a
seat, backband, footbraces or rudder controls.

That's not a realistic approach. There's nothing wrong with drilling
into fiberglass and for something like footbracing, that's about the
only thing I'd trust. Given that I've popped plastic footpegs out
of their tracks while bracing/rolling, there's no way I'd trust a
system that uses glue to hold footbraces in place. BTW - I replaced
the plastic footpegs with aluminum.

If you're worried about any loss of strength in the fiberglass, then
sand the inside and epoxy on a layer of fiberglass inside. If the
hole is neat, there'll be no stress-risers.

Use a brad-point drill bit to make a clean hole. Drill from the
outside.

Holes in the cockpit area don't have to be perfectly waterproof -
they'll only leak a drop or two and the cockpit gets wetter than
that from stepping in and out. A dab of sealant on the inside
of the hole will pretty much waterproof it once the bolt's
tightened.

The backband is the only part that could be glued - you could mount
D-ring pads inside the hull and attach the backband's webbing to
that. D-ring pads are available anyplace that sells outfitting bits
for whitewater canoes.

Mike