C-Forum

I have a Wenonah Solo Plus made with Tuf-weave. (Their website says Tuf-weave is a combination of polyester and fiberglass). The gunwales are aluminum.

I paddle the boat solo, and I would like to add lacing for extra flotation. I've been reading on Cboats that it's pretty standard to drill through the hull. Is that just for Royalex boats? Will it work with this Tuf-weave stuff? Any special considerations for drilling through fiberglass?

I've seen holes drilled through the hull of composite boats for airbag lacing.

I have a Tuff-weave boat, with drilled lacing holes, sitting in my yard right now. No problems or issues.

I have also drilled lots of other composite hulls for bags.

Roy

Deburr the holes so that the edges don't abrade the cords.

My Echoee has the cages drilled through the hull with grommets to protect the string.

For a clean hole when drilling composites (or most anything for that matter), clamp a scrap piece of wood on the back side. That prevents tear out, and allows the bit to make a clean cut as it exits the hole.

But looking at the photo of your boat, drilling through the flanges of your aluminum gunwales is an option. That would get the holes up nice and high, and there would be no concerns about damaging the composite, because both sides of it are protected by aluminum. The holes you will be drilling are small, and spaced apart, so I would not be concerned about them weakening the gunwale. You're just not removing enough aluminum to have that kind of impact.

If you do drill through the aluminum, as a second step use a chamfer bit on both sides to remove the sharp corners of aluminum. This is really quick and easy, and chamfer bits are cheap and readily available (if you don't already have one).

I agree with NickParker posting.

You can also glue webbing loops to the hull:
http://www.canadierforum.de/t9050f4-Pro ... ten-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

gerrit wrote:You can also glue webbing loops to the hull:
http://www.canadierforum.de/t9050f4-Pro ... ten-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did something like that to my boats. I would check the glue adhesion to the hull first though.

Thanks for the input. It's good to know that it's safe to drill.

I also like the idea of gluing webbing loops or something similar. Is there a piece of hardware made for that purpose?

I'd just drill and be done with it. 30 min and you re finished.