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Photos of deck mounted footbrace *Pic*
By:Eric Schade (Shearwater Boats)
Date: 4/30/2000, 1:10 pm

I finally got a photograph of my deck mounted footbraces which i used in my S&G baidarka. These are a variation of the footbraces described in Nick's book.

I mounted the rail which the footbraces slide on inside the peak of the deck and the hooks which hold the footbraces in place on the bottom (inside of the keel) between my legs.

The reason for this was to give me more foot room than my standard footbraces which take up some of the room needed for my heels. works well, there is plenty of room in the baidarka anyhow.

I took the photo showing the back side of the foot brace with its structural webbing of 1/4" luan plywood and generous epoxy/wood flour fillets. the slider for the rail on the top is made from ash milled to grab the "T" section rail.

You can just see the rope, at the bottom, which is looped around the hooks to adjust the foot brace location. the loop of rope is just passed through holes drilled in the plywood and knoted.

if I repete the experiment, i would make the foot surfaces fit the inside of the boat better around the heel for comfort, but generally pretty good.