> Below should be a picture of a model of a footpeg we are looking at
> installing

Great picture!

> The mounting blocks would be epoxied to the sides of the kayak,

Make these as large as you think you can get away with. You'll distribute the force of your weight over a larger area of the hull. Fewer pounds per square inch should lsat longer and be stronger.

> the
> removable footpeg recepticle would be mounted via the bolts. The peg
> itself will have a hole drilled in the top and held to a groove in the
> back by a bungie or heavy duty rubber band.

I like the idea of rotating foot pegs, but it seems to me each time you want to adjust the location of the pegs that you would have to remove the entire strip (receptacle), or have mighty small hands which can reach between the receptacle and the kayak hull in order to release the bungee/rubberband that holds the pedal in place. That means you'll probably have to carry a socket wrench and a few extra nuts, and squeeze yourself into a rather tight place, on a too frequent basis.

Why not just use a cotter pin, linch pin or hitch pin. They are small, cheap, lightweight, go on fast ( even with one hand, and in the dark) In the event you lose one while you are 50 miles from a store, you can wedge in a twig, twine, a scrap of cloth, a bit of wire or the twist-tie from the plastic bag you are keeping your garbage in.

Just drill a suitably sized hole in those bolts, assemble the parts, and slip in the pin of choice.

I'm partial to the hairpin shaped hitch pins. In truly awful conditions, when I can't get a grip on the with just my fingers, I can pop them off with the can opener on my pocket knife. (Swiss Army Knife, don't leave home without one)

Another option to consider is to not embed bolts in the blocks which are glued to the hull, but to embed stainless steel `T' nuts. If you embed a bolt you'll have to machine a neat, recessed hexagon so the thing doesn't rotate. With a `T' nut you just drill a hole, or, if you want to be real neat, you drill two holes, a wide shallow one to allow the rim of the T-nut to recess, and then a hole all the way through, for the threaded shaft part of the T-nut. Very fast to do. There was a big discussion on T nuts on this board a while ago.

Instead of turning the pedals on a lathe, why not just make the rectangular pedal block and then drill it for an inserted dowel. You can buy birch dowel stock at any hardware store. A few drops of epoxy will keep it in the pedal forever, but if you prefer the belt-and suspenders approach, you can also drill a small hole through the pedal and insert a metal pin or wire to lock the pieces together, and serve as insurance. One nice feature is that the dowel rods are a generally sold a few thousandths smaller than their nominal size. If you drill a 5/8 inch hole in your receptacle and use a 5/8 inch dowel it should be a tight fit -- which you can make as loose as you want in just a few minutes work with some sandpaper.

One advantage I can see from turning the round parts is that you can maximize the diameter of the round section.

Again, if you drill a hole, or machine a groove around the peg part of the pedal you can use a cotter pin, hitch pin, etc, or a wire circlip to secure it, allowing rotation, and also easy removal without tools. The oak receptacle sounds like it will be pretty, and strong. If you want your pedals to be adjustable in 1 inch increments you do not have to drill your holes 1 inch apart. Make the receptacle 1` inch longer than you currently have it, and drill two sets of the mounting holes at each end. Make these one inch apart. Now drill your pedal holes 2 inches apart. For a quick 2 inch change, just move the pedal. For a 1 inch change, remove the receptacle and reposition it 1 inch. For other lengths, move both the pedal and the recptacle the pedal goes in. The reasoning here is that the mounting holes go over metal bolts or rods and are smaller diameter holes than the holes needed for mounting the pedals. You won't lose as much strength putting the smaller diameter holes close together as you would lose if you closely spaced the larger diameter ones.

Hope these ideas help. Paul Jacobson