Re: Hip Brace Placement

Posted by LeeG on Aug 4, 2004

there aren't very many options,,it's pretty much in the middle of the straight section on the side of the coaming underneath where the deckbutt joint is. Not exactly in the middle of the deck butt joint but close. Straight sided 5" wide rectangular plates of 6mm or doubled glassed 4mm plywood are a more optimal shape than the triangular hip plates in the kits. If you look at kayak outfitting pictures,,like Kurts, you'll notice the foam hip braces don't narrow down at the top. Check out some Salamander adjustable hip plates,,they're rectangular pockets wider than the top section of the plates provided with the kit and provide a wide range of adjustability without having minicell tear out getting in/out. Recess the hip plates about 1/4" in from the inside edge of the coaming to allow for an adequate fillet on the inside edge where the back band strap pulls inward against the plates..run glass over the fillet on the top outside edge of the deck/brace fillet under the deck. If you want to have a strong, versatile back band attachment do what's common in a Merganser and cut three vertical slots for the back band to route through. It requires no hardware and is as secure as the hip plate. Having glass on the outside edge of the hip plate where the back band routes behind the plate will reduce the wear into the wood.

In Response to: Hip Brace Placement by Rich Flerra on Aug 2, 2004

Replies:

• Re: Hip Brace Placement by FrankP on Aug 4, 2004
  • Re: Hip Brace Placement by LeeG on Aug 5, 2004
    • Re: Hip Brace Placement by FrankP on Aug 5, 2004
      • Re: Hip Brace Placement by LeeG on Aug 5, 2004