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Foot rest installation


bagarre

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I bought the standard foot rests and brackets from Kidzu Craft.

 

I understand how to install them but I have concerns with the little screws in the soft cedar stringers working loose over time.

I plan on rolling the kayaks quite a bit and I'd hate to push a bracket out of a stringer and have to repair it with the skin on.

 

Anyone have experience with these brackets?  I'm thinking about re-enforcing the screw locations by gluing in a harder dowel rod  nut and bolting.

 

thoughts?

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I haven't used those brackets but here's how I have done it. It doesn't show very well in the picture but I used a small wood block at the fore and aft of each footrest. The block in the front is positioned against the cross section so that the foot pressure is transferred to the cross section and lashing instead of to the screws holding the block in place. 

 (Don't know why my pictures always show up sideways...)

 

post-3755-0-10961500-1471257907_thumb.jpg

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I was waiting to see if you got another other response before I said anything.  I had the same concerns but so far I have never had one fail or heard of a failure.  If they do it is going next to impossible to remove and replace without reskinning. 

 

The force on the foot rests is primarily pushing on the screws, so it is a shearing force and that is good in this case.  Even so, I would suggest testing it on some scrap and seeing what you think. The strength is going to be directly related to how well the wood you used holds the screws.

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I thought about lashing maple blocks to the frame and bolting the foot rests to those but, I really like the aluminum brackets.

Adding a small block to help transfer the load to the frame is a good idea tho. I may look into trying to incorporate that idea.

 

I did some tests lastnight in leftover cedar strips using #7 1" screws.

Pre-drilling is very important. Without pre-drilling, the wood will split or you wont be able to torque the screw.

I used a #40 drill bit for the #7 screws.

 

In a vice, you really need to put a wrench on the bracket to work it loose. Again, the wood split before the holes gave out. The amount of force was very high.

To prevent splitting, I lashed the stringer on either side of the bracket. I think the bracket would deform before I could rip it off.

 

To take it a step forward, I'll predrill and fill the holes with TB3 glue. Once the glue dries, I'll  chase the holes with the drill and run the screws in.

That should strengthen the softer cedar and make the brackets near bomb proof.

 

Thanks!

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As I said, never had one fail yet and I just drill pilot holes and screw them in. I have at a couple of boats that had a lot of years and miles on them.

It has to be frustrating when the inexperienced don't take advice and over engineer solutions :)

 

On my first (and only)  boat 15 years ago, I remember the indecision of not knowing what was strong enough. I was so afraid of something failing that I took 10 times longer to build the thing and never really trusted it.  

 

I decided to split the difference and screw them in without glue but still lash either side to prevent splitting.

 

post-5722-0-38120600-1471313464_thumb.jpg

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