: That's all good info above, but there's a problem I had that you should be
: made aware of. The hull panels on my kayak twist a bit in the area of the
: pedal mounting screws. So the axis of the studs (I used elevator bolts)
: was not parallel to each other. This made the mounting rails very
: difficult to install. When I first had trouble I should have drilled out
: the mounting holes, but instead I just forced them. Now I doubt if I can
: ever get them off. Next time I believe I'll use the external screws, as
: you stated they are the easiest to maintain/replace. The odds are this
: problem was unique to me since nobody else seems to have had it, just be
: aware.
I've been following this thread for awhile, and am surprised there has been much of a problem with the McMaster studs. When I mounted my braces, I simply drilled out the holes on the rails, allowing the studs to slide snugly, but easily, through; I bedded the studs base (I used the ones with the round, maybe 2", base) in a piece of 6 ou. fiberglass saturated in epoxy, unthickened.(Also just a circle, slightly larger than the base). By leaving the studs in place, on the rail, you maintain that alignment of the bolts in the rail holes. If the side of the boat isn't exactly 'fair', the epoxy base will correct that. I added two additional layers of FG, simply disks cut out of cloth, slid over the stud bolts, also saturated with epoxy. As the epoxy set up, I 'filled' the weave. I can easily remove the rails, they fit snug against the inside of the hull, and seem very solid. It seems to work slick, but then again, I've done only one boat. Maybe I got lucky.