Re: Soft Webbing Loops

Posted by Kurt Maurer on May 26, 2004

Doug, cutting the slots is the least of the advances, as far as I am concerned. Do whatever is easiest for you. The only stringient requirement, as I see it, is that the outside edges of the slots be machine-shop-straight (the inside edge gets covered by the loop). This is easy to accomplish by hand sanding starting with an undersized slot. Using a power tool in concert with a fence or template might work just as well. At an rate, each slot costs me about five minutes time using a drill, then a hacksaw blade with 100-grit sandpaper stuck to it. My slots *never* come out funky (44 slots so far... I need to get a life).

I never seal my loops, either. I like to make my slots a really tight fit instead; this makes 'em easy to remove and replace for any future work to the boat. Sure they leak a little, but only a little, and the boat will get wet inside anyway, hey? To get the loop through the slot, I pinch one corner of the loop with pliers, wheedle it into the slot with that corner leading the way, and when it pokes through the deck grab it with the pliers and pull it on up.

Check Joe Greenley's (Redfish Kayaks) web page, linked below, to get the original proposal. I now melt my loop ends for bungee fittings, per Joe... super quick and easy! However, I continue to make wooden backer plates (as noted on my Pair O' Mill Creeks website) for bomb-proof installations such a

In Response to: Soft Webbing Loops by Doug Judd on May 26, 2004

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