Center Rail Idea

[AU_Whitewater]

I was trying to figure out how I am going to go about outfitting my playboat shell. I went to the hardware store and found a metal sheet I thought maybe be good for my support in the middle of the boat. I would put foam bulkheads in the front and back, and glue the metal rail in the middle. I would attach my d rings for the thigh straps to my metal bar along with my saddle. Do you think this would be a good idea for my playboat set up. A picture should be attached showing where I would place my bar in the boat

[Sir Adam]

Randy's Fence Rail Conversion in Outfitting should give you a few more ideas about attachment and placement.

I think plastic and aluminum are OK to use, not sure I'd want steel due to weight and danger to the paddler if something went wrong.


https://www.cboats.net/outfitting/fencerail.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[edg]

One of my favorite West coast sources- Aerospace Composite Products. http://www.acpsales.com/OnlineStore.php?cat=4784" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The link is to the clearance items. Look for sandwich panels and laminates. The rail in my Prozone is a length of .3" solid carbon laminate that showed up in the clearance section.

I think a beat up cross country ski would also work, and could be cheaper.

[Mike W.]

If you're doing a bulkhead you don't need thigh straps. If you're not doing thigh straps you don't need a center rail.

I use a bulkhead and a lap belt in my play boats. Depending on how tight you want to be, you can get away with just a bulkhead and no straps at all. If you go strapless, you'll want the bulkhead to come higher up your thighs.