Question for Wes - or others

[Peter]

How do you set up a rodholder in a fiberglass kayak. Can you drill in the glass and set in a rodholder? Or do you use a surface mounted holder?

[Wes]

I used surface mounted Titeloks, I like Ram Rod holders also. The Titeloks can be removed leaving only a 1/4 inch high plate on the deck. My boat is actually a wood stripper so this is a qualified answer but it should be no problem to drill glass. Wear a dust mask so you aren't inhaling glass dust. I would cover the area with masking tape before marking and drilling to help keep the gel coat from chipping. Back inside with fender washers and seal with silicon to keep water out. I think certain lay ups might delaminate if you get water in there but pretty unlikely. You could dab a little epoxy inside the edges of the holes if you wanted to get crazy about it. If the deck isn't very close to flat you might also need to make a plinth shaped to the deck so you don't distort it when you crank down on the bolts. I've never mounted one but I'm sure you could use flush mount holders as well, plug the bottom of the tube first and make a bigger hole.