: After an absolutely exhilarating hour in the pool, having completed my first
: ever solo roll, then going on to complete another fifteen or so, I noticed
: I am pushing pretty hard on the foot brace.
: I realize I may not be doing it perfectly but it brings up concern. As I am
: building a SOF.
: My concern is for the dowels holding my footbrace in the gunwale.
: I used hardwood dowels but being I am a rather big boy at just over 200lbs I
: can exert a pretty fair amount of pressure here.
: So, I am wondering would a piece of wood behind and butt up to the foot rest
: offer a little insurance or be just a waste of time and added weight?
: Any Ideas or failure info would be appreciated.

You could back it up if you really think it's necessary, but frankly, you shouldn't be pushing on it hard enough to cause a problem. The seating position in a SOF is pretty straight legged, which precludes putting much stress on the footbrace. On my own boats, I use 1.5" square stock for the foot braces. It accepts 3, 1/4" dowels, providing plenty of strength. I also cut the front face at a 15 degree angle, which feels much more natural and comfortable.