Foot Brace Studs installed on Pygmy Borealis XL

Over the last two nights I have installed the port and starboard foot brace studs. These are threaded studs welded onto a flat, round plate with holes in them. You position them according to the instructions and then bed them into thickened epoxy. On top of the thickened epoxy you wet out a 4" x4" layer of fiberglass. When dry the studs are solidly fixed to the sides.

On my last kayak I can tell you that I put A LOT of pressure at times on those foot peddles and they never came loose. The studs are a nice alternative to drilling holes through the sides of your boat to mount the foot braces.

Because I'm so tall I moved the position of the foot brace studs 1" forward. It's not much, but I'm also planning on putting my seat back as far as possible. So hopefully by moving the foot pegs forward and the seat aft I will have plenty of room!

This is the stud bedded into thickened epoxy but before the 4" x4" tape went on top. If you look closely you can still see the lines that you draw to help you center the studs in the correct position.

The kit supplies a 16" x 4" strip of fiberglass that you cut into four squares. Cut a tiny hole in the middle so that they can slip over the studs.

You'll want to put some plastic strapping tape underneath the foot rails while the epoxy dries. Alternatively you could wrap them in plastic wrap. They won't stick to the epoxy that way.

I simply wrapped strapping tape around the entire hull twice to prop the boat up on its side. There are two foam car carriers underneath.

This morning the foot rail came right off and I easily trimmed the fiberglass that hung over the top. Tonight I did the starboard side.

Almost ready to glue the deck on! Just need to saturate the insides of the #4 panel above the fiberglass and then I'll stick the deck on the next day or so.

Peace!

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