Pisces 17--foot braces w/ rudder control
 

Thanks to everyone for earlier advice on seat and bulkhead on Pisces
17. I'm going to replace bulkhead w/ 3" minicell and fix existing
seat until I figure out what I really want to do.
My new questions involve the following:
1. the best way to secure a backband to the kayak whether I use the
foam seat or wavesport seat (I'm not sure I want to drill the shell);
2. the best way to create footbraces which are secure and independent
of rudder controls. I feel like I have little control relying on the
foot rudders for bracing. I am considering using existing sliding
rudder controls, fixed in channel, as the footbrace, and attaching
rudder wires to some type of toe controls (a poor man's Prijon gas
pedal system or SmartTrack). The existing Pisces system has a 5"
channel secured to the boat that the 1"x 1/8" rudder controls slide
through; and
3. is it OK to use MEK instead of acetone to prep surface prior to
repair?
Any hints/suggestions the above will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

On 11-Oct-2004, (mccaldwell) wrote:

1. the best way to secure a backband to the kayak whether I use the
foam seat or wavesport seat (I'm not sure I want to drill the shell);

If the seat is bolted to the hull just under the coaming, remove one bolt,
make a hole in the end of the webbing for the backband and reinstall the
bolt through the webbing.

If not, consider just making a loop around the seat side posts until you
want to do something permanent.

2. the best way to create footbraces which are secure and independent
of rudder controls.

Look at the Seaward rudder pedals. Cheaper than the Smartrudder and easy
enough to install. Nice and solid bracing. You might have to drill a new
mounting hole and fill the old one, since when I put Seaward pedals in
a Solstice, the hole spacing was different than the regular Yakima type.

3. is it OK to use MEK instead of acetone to prep surface prior to
repair?

Eeeww! Those are both nasty. Why bother? (Is MEK a solvent?)

Just sand the surface and then clean with alcohol. If it's grungy,
clean with soap and water before sanding and then clean with alcohol
to remove soap residue. I once had to remove sticky stuff with
WD 40 (no goo gone around) and then washed with soap and rinsed
with alcohol. Repair never failed.

Mike

Prijon pedals, at least the kind I found, have foot pegs that are adjustable by
pulling a pin in a row of holes. Bracing is rock solid and rudder adjustment
is gotten by the collar that slids over the peg, a collar that rotates over the
peg.