: >>the basic size and shape of Nick's footrest is dead bang on the
: money...

: I've always been curious about how well this style of footrest works and how
: comfortable it is, etc., vs. standard pegs: having an obstruction in the
: center of the floor vs. up on the sides, etc. Seems like it would be comfy
: and secure and OK for rolling, too. Care to elaborate on your experience?
: I'll bet a lot of folks would like to know.

I agree with Bill, this design is the most comfortable around by far. With footpegs there is a small contact patch that irritates after a while, and no good way to put the pressure on a different part of your foot. The only realistic alternative is to take your feet off the pegs for a while. With Nick's design, the load is spread out over your whole foot, and that keeps the puppies from barking.

In the previous iteration, the aluminum channels were epoxied to the hull with epoxy putty fillets. The epoxy is still there, but the bonds failed a long time ago. Long-term bonding of epoxy to aluminum with exposure to fresh and salt water turn out to be problematical. It was during a rolling session at the pool that the channel took a permanent powder. Until it loosened up though, it was plenty tight enough for rolling.

The other problem was flexing of both the glue line and the hull itself under heavy loads. With this setup, all the forces are pretty much contained within the beam itself except for a shear force at the glue line.

: --SF