Hey Chuck! I'm in the same situation as you...considering foot brace strategy.

: in my mid i always anticipated installing the footbraces before tht hull and
: deck were joined.

This is a standard practice...I did it this way on my wife's Osprey Stndrd. However, the cockpit was already cut out, and I could have her sit in the boat at about the correct position when it came time to chalk out where her feet would end up. The kayak I'm working on now didn't have the cockpit cut out when I went to attatch deck to hull. Therefore, I couldn't sit in it and mark my chalk lines for feet position, because I didn't know where my buttocks would be positioned without the cockpit rim to guide me.

On my wife's Osprey Stndrd, I epoxied some 1/4" strip pieces to the hull interior where the foot braces would go, and took some "cheak" plate material and screwed it into the strip pieces making a sort of bridge. I used brass screws. Then, I treated this bidge as if it were the hull and screwed and bolted my wife's foot braces in place. This would have been alomost impossible with the deck attatched permanently. Basically this is a variation of the method described by our fellows in your thread and the technique described by Ted Moores in "Kayak Craft", pp 158-159.

: but i just test fitted the deck hull and located the footbrace rails and they
: fall directly on the sheerline. whick means that any mounting metode will
: be either covered by the seam tape, or have to wait until the hull and
: deck are joined. making it much more difficult to place the footbraces.

I'm not certain that the exact position of foot braces is set in stone. I've the plastic kind...not aluminum, and if they are an inch from the sheer, or an inch and a half, or even two inches down from the sheer, I don't think it will make a difference...more experienced paddlers might have a different opinion. In the event that you can live with installing your foot braces lower, doing it before you attatch the deck to the hull will not be a problem...you might need to tape the foot braces up so's not to get any goopy schmutz on them when you go to fillet and lay up that interior hull/deck seam.

: do you have any ideas?

: when are the footbraces normally installed? befor or after the seam is
: joined.

Normal is relative. My wife's boat before. My boat, after.

: i am thinking now that "through the hull" mounting bolts will be
: necessary.

The bridge described above in reference to Ted Moores' book and the pages indicated give you another option (which was suggested by our fellows here). There is also the "taped stud" idea. This is a stud that is epoxied and taped to your hull interior, at the position you wish to mount your braces. The studs protrude beyond the surface of the track, making it impossible to slide the foot braces completely off without removing the whole track from the studs.

: can/should the braces be bolted to the deck instead, allowing the hardware to
: be "hidden in plain sight" as part of the rigging tiedowns?

I haven't heard of this before. I think it depends on the distance from the hull bottom to the deck, and if your feet can comfortably hold the position. However, I'm not sure if you could "camoflauge" the bolts/screws on the deck good enough.

Bill Cruz