One other thing to consider when drilling holes is that the holes will expose 'fresh' steel to the atmosphere, giving rust a place to begin its cancerous process. I use Yakima racks, but understand from the Thule web site that the traditional Thule crossbars are also polyethylene-coated steel, so my Yakima experiences should translate to the square Thule bars. I've seen Yakima bars fail at the site where the plastic cover was scraped/cut and the steel underneath was rusted to the point of being so weak as to not withstand the normal loading processes of hauling boats. Once the plastic membrane is compromised, the steel underneath will begin to rust, and this process will be hastened by exposure to moisture and/or salt. The crossbars I currently have on the racks are somewhat rusted in several spots, but I've fashioned oak dowels to fit *inside* the Yakima crossbars to extend their life (and have new bars in the basement for the time when the current bars finally fail). On the Prairie Coast, Erik Sprenne *************************************************************************** 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 - 15:37:26 PST
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