Hi David, thanks for the reply. I've thought about this a lot, and IMO the Thule bars are sized for much greater loads than two fiberglass kayaks. It'll support me when I put the two ends of the crossbar on bricks. So I'm not too worried about weakening the structure. Since the bar is being bent upwards due to the lift created by the hull moving through the air because the hull is secured to the crossbar, the upper surface of the bar is in tension, the lower edge is in compression and the center of the bar is not stressed. So drilling a small hole through the bar at the centerline shouldn't cause too much diminution of the structural strength. Although a couple of hose clamps might work, I think that they could also be moved sideways without too much force being used. The surface of the bar is smooth so even though the hose clamp is tight, it'll slide. I wish I had a way to tighten the saddles more than what I can using my hand. Any other Thule users/dealers out there that want to weigh in on this discussion? David Christianson wrote: > John, > > I have worked on avionics and air frame mechanics have very hard > rules. One is never to drill a hole in any structural member. It weakens > the whole structure - unpredictably. I would suggest putting a hose clamp > at the point you would drill a hole. > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Dec 15 2001 - 07:59:35 PST
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