Tim,

I just put holes in my Outer Island last night for the front grab loop and footbraces. I wasn't nervous when it came to drilling -- I just made sure I measured twice (or 3 or 4 times) and cut once.

To ensure accurate holes, I rubber-banded a small torpedo level to my cordless drill, so I could watch that I didn't drill the hole upwards or downwards. I just eye-balled the fore/aft part, but you could tape a straightedge or T-square to the deck to have a line to follow in that direction. For the end toggle hole, I laid out the spot on both sides marked on masking tape. I drilled with a 1/8" bit, then checked for accuracy on the other side, so I could force the hole in the right direction with the larger bits. It was O.K. with 1/8", so I drilled thru with 1/4" and 1/2" (my final size.)

NOTE: I goofed on my footbrace holes a bit. I used only one footbrace to mark the holes on both sides, drilled them, then found out that the holes on the 2 braces weren't the same -- bad assumption. I was off only by 1/8", so it was easy to grind the hole into an oval with the flank of the drill bit. I drilled with 3 successive bits there, too.

I lock my kayak to the rafters by running a cable lock into the cockpit and around one of the cheek plates, which on my kayaks are deck-to-hull, not the free-hanging ones like in Nick's book. You could consider epoxying a block with a U-bolt in it to the underside of your deck behind the seat for stringing a cable thru. Locking into the cockpit means you can lock it to a roof rack when it's on the car.

Dean

: Hello all,

: It seems like our Osprey has been "almost done" for weeks. :-)
: However, it is now time to drill through the end pours so that we can
: attach carry toggles. We need to drill 3/4" holes at the bow and
: stern. We have a standard hand drill. Should we use a bit or hole saw? Any
: hints on setting up a guide to ensure that the hole is straight, etc.? Do
: most people just mark the spot and drill it free hand? We have at our
: disposal sufficient scrap wood and lots of clamps. :-)

: Why a 3/4" hole, you may ask?

: I was considering methods to secure our boats when they were hanging in our
: carport. We'd had bikes stolen from there and wanted to ensure the
: security of our boats. My idea was to hang the boat from the holes through
: the end pours. At the stern, the carry toggle rope loop would be hung on a
: hook. And at the bow, I'd remove the rope from the the hole and hang it
: using a U-Lock through the end pour (the U-Lock shackle is about
: 5/8"). Is there any problem with supporting the weight of the boat
: from the ends?

: Thanks alot,

: Tim.