: I am in the process of attaching knee hooks to the underside of my cockpit
: and wonder if anyone has done this with Velcro? I have been researching 3M
: products and there appears to be something called a dual lock reclosable
: fastener that has many of the strength and durability properties I am
: looking for. I could simply epoxy the braces for a permanent attachment,
: but if there is a suitable Velcro that eliminates flex while bracing that
: would seem to be the best of both worlds. Thanks in advance.

I've worked with Dual Lock before at work, but haven't tried it in kayaking. It's kind of cool stuff. Both sides are the same and look like a field of tiny mushrooms rather than hooks and loops. You push the heads together and they interlock. They're good for places where you need to pull them apart and reinstall them often, because they don't wear out quite like Velcro can.

As for strength, though, I'd be worried that trying to pull them apart may just pull both parts off. You'll yank the braces off and have them both attached to either the hull or the knee braces. I wouldn't trust the acrylic-backed peel-and-stick adhesive that I've seen it seen on samples at work. You'd have to get some that don't have adhesive and apply them with epoxy or contact cement. It won't take much to hold your knee braces -- I'd put a 1" or 3/4" square on each corner, or possibly a narrow strip down each side instead. Covering the whole backside of your knee braces would be overkill, and hard to remove/install, too.

I bought pre-sculpted minicell knee braces from Pygmy Kayaks and really like them. I installed them with a stripe of contact cement down either of the long edges, and they've held incredibly well. When I shoulder the kayak down to the water, my hand pushes up on one of the braces with a good deal of force, and the knee brace hasn't pulled loose or started to tear. Going with a small stripe on either side makes it easier to remove later, had I not positioned them right.

Dean