Never done a Wood Duck.  I just completed a Petrel Play, strip boat.   Since the foot peg measurements are taken with deck off on most boats the angle of your  knees needs to be verified with the position of an installed future deck.  I get the boat out on the grass and place the paddler in the boat and place the pegs half way on the  mid section to ball of the  paddler's  feet. Height is often half of the deck but below the part line. 

I guess my first reaction is: whose boat is it? Yours or someone else's? The person you are building for should be used for setting the locations.

As I recall, the standard sequence fo WD assembly is to put the footbraces in after the deck is on. I did mine differently since I used the stainless steel no-hole stud mounts which are a lot easier to install before the deck is attached. If the deck is already on then Grumpy's method is the way to go. Putting it on the lawn will let you assume the correct paddling position without tipping from side to side.

If you mount the adjustable braces so that when they are centered they are in your sweet spot there will be a fair bit of lattitude for adjusting for taller and shorter paddlers. But if it's your boat, always install them to fit you. The last thing you need is a boat that is comfortable for everyone else except the owner. That would be a real waste of time and money.

Laszlo

   I'm making the shearwater sport and am looking for guidance on the placement of the studs for the Internal Footbrace Mounts. I've read they should be 2" down from the sheer line with fiberglass squares of 3"x3". I've also read that the studs should be down 3" from the sheer line with fiberglass squares of 2x2. Does anyone have any recommendations (as this is my first clc build) on the placement of the studs? Thanks.

Just to confuse you even more, I spaced mine 2" below the sheer, used 2"x2" glass squares and placed them on the bias :-)

Seriously, this all goes to show that the numbers are not that critical. My studs have stayed happily attached to my WD12 for 15 years now.

The distance from the sheer is determined by the shape of the boat's bottom, the height of the side hull panel, the shape of the deck and the size of your feet. You need the footbraces low enough so they do not touch the underside of the deck and so there'll be room for your toes when the balls of your feet are resting on footbraces with your heels on the bottom while you're sitting comfortably in a paddling position, properly braced.

That's a lot to work out, but fortunately 2"-3" delow the sheer works for most situations. For my WD12 I'm very happy with 2". The Shearwater Sport is a very close relative of the WD12 with similar dimensions and shapes at that part of the boat, so if it was my boat I'd use 2" below the sheer for that boat, too. 3" down makes more sense for people with smaller feet, higher sides or a flatter deck on the boat.

Check out my WD12 Build web pages for a way to position the studs for perfect alignment and spacing, as long as you haven't put the deck on yet.

Laszlo

   I just installed mine in the past week. I'm using the flush mount studs and the smart track rudder kit with the verticle adjustment jigs. 

I sat down in the hull and put a rough pencil mark at the ball of my foot. I then assembled teh rig and clamped it in place with the pedal in the middle position and jumped back in to see if it felt good. Once I was happy, I maked the position of the jig with painters tape. It worked out to 2" below the sheer ling to the top of the verticle adjustment and (I think) 38" to the aftmost edge from the bulkhead. I then masked averything up and epoxieed the studs in place and clamped the whole jig, similar to what Laszlo shows on his site. I then stepped out to give it some time to tack, and came back, managing to know over and entire pile of boxes when opening the door which couldn't possibly have fallen more directly on the precise spot i had just carefully clamped. So I thanked myself for the painters tape guides and quickley reglued the disaster and cursed at the scrape that will take forever to sand out in the visible portion of the cockpit. Good luck!