: thnaks i have purchased from mcmaster before. that looks much like what the
: dealers sell for 5$ each. but I dont need 10. one dealer has them 4 for
: 10$ which is cheaper than mc master, but still not $0.50 like the elevator
: bolts or T-nuts.

: if it comes down to it, i dont mind the exposed hardware on the hull.

Chuck, I have used stainless t nuts before. I flattened out the prongs and epoxied them to the hull. I think I used the 1/4" size. I had to drill out the Yakima rails so that the threaded portion would fit through the rail. I stuck a small piece of foam in the hole so that epoxy would not get in the threads. I placed strapping tape on the back of the rail to act as a mold release. I used a good bit of thickened epoxy to make a bed for the rail at the t nut locations. Check out the One Ocean Kayaks site for pictures of the general idea. I didn't use any glass over the nut and one popped loose. I re-epoxied it with a couple strips of glass over it. The McMaster binding studs have a much larger surface area. Haven't had any problems with them.

Kurt