A while ago when I first started posting to this site, I wrote down a series of thoughts that I'd had on deck fittings, hatches and end grabs. I hadn't (or didn't more precisely) read the posting directions and therefore didn't pick up on the 'dble enter' to get a line return technique. Consequently, the post came out totally garbled.

I was so annoyed about the time spent with getting such a lousy result that I gave up. However, after learning how to post images, I began to mull over doing the whole post over again but adding dwgs to make it more complete.

So while at work over lunch time, I've been making a dwg every now and again with the hopes of making a more satisfying end to my debacle. For those who actually read and understood the first post, I can only apologize for boring you yet again, but hopefully I've added something interesting in one or two dwgs.

Before I start, I'd like to apologize to Rob and Nick as their photos are so indistinct that I had to maybe make up a thing or two at the end.

Again, I have not tried any of these ideas - they are untested - but they may help in spurring some different results. In most cases, I've left out glassing and wood sealing steps for brevity.

So the first few ideas I'd like to present deal with deck fittings:

MINIMIZED PADEYE FITTING

About the first item I bought in anticipation of building a sea kayak were 20 plastic padeye fittings. Realizing that they would be ugly knuckle bruisers, I tried to think of a minimized and lower profile method of attachment that you see here. This approach could be extended to other recessed fittings that I've seen posted if the rod were bent upward in an upside down 'U' shape so that the recess is minimized and the rod is not so deep down:

premise - shallow, drainable and strong.

Before glassing, drill a 3/4" hole in the deck - chamfer the edges. Push up padeye from below and notch into place so that it comes flush or slightly raised from the deck.

On the work bench, lay up 3 @ 3/4" strips side by side and let glue up. Cut 2" circles or squares from the strips. Place a padeye on the circle, outline the padeye base on the circle and drill it ( with 3/8" +or- drill bit) out so the padeye sits down flush with the workbench. Cover the 2" circle with light cloth and jam in the padeye and let set up. After setup, chamfer the underside of the circle and glass this allowing 1/2" of glass to overhang.

Like George suggested with another fitting, push a string thru the hole in the deck, tie it onto the padeye, epoxy butter the outside top edges of the circle. Pull the string and let glue in place.

You now have a low or flush profile fitting, only deck thickness deep to allow drainage. If tied off (wire, roving strand) below from original bolt hole to bolt hole, it would be as strong as your deck and backup.

see dwg below:

refer to dwg 2/10 for next page