In response to Larry C's earlier question about my thigh hooks in the Seat thread.....

I made my thigh hooks from a chunk of redwood 2x4. Yep--they're that technical!!

I cut the 2x4 piece about 10" long and then ripped it down the center at a 45* angle--leaving me with two identical 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 10" pieces with one long edge (short side) sloped at 45*.

Then, I fit it into the boat so the "natural" edge of the 2x4 faced into the cockpit and the 45ed edge faced the sheer of the boat with the widest face of the 2x4 facing upward. The 2x4 needs to sit so that its long axis is parallel to the long axis of the boat and the top and bottom surfaces are parallel to the level waterline across the width of the boat. They fit with the top and bottom surfaces roughly parallel to the slope of the coaming.

With some 40- or 60-grit paper in a ROS, shape the 2x4 so that it fits the exact curves of the boat. Round off the top inside edge from the back to the point where that edge ducks under the coaming so you don't have that sharp edge in the cockpit.

Gouge out the 45* slope with a chisel, knife, or the ROS until you have a fair concavity. Half of the thigh hook pad (1/4" minicel) will be glued to the underside of the deck, and the other half should curve smoothly onto the thigh hook. I had to use a bit of dookie schmutz at this junction to make a smooth curve--you want your kneecap/inner thigh to have as much area contacted as possible.

The image shows the outline of the original 2x4 (blue), then the 45* cut (red) and the final shape (black)

Shawn