Installing FrontRower:
- Most canoes have one crossbar (thwart) across the center of the boat. For solo
rowing, you should sit in the middle of the boat, so this crossbar will need to
be removed.
- Canoes need crossbars to stiffen the gunwales and hold them
in the correct position. You will need to install
two new crossbars to provide the stiffening needed. The locations shown
will give enough room for the FrontRower and should provide adequate
structure.
- Two hold-down screws (one front and one rear) hold the FrontRower in
place. They thread into mounting pads which are permanently glued into
the bottom of the boat (no holes are needed in the boat bottom). This allows easy removal for transportation.
- Place the mounting pads in the location shown.
To find the lengthwise centerline, lay a board across the gunwales, locate the
center on the board, and project straight down with a carpenter's square. The
threaded holes in the pads must be 50-1/2 inches apart. Trace around the pads with a pencil, then remove them. Scuff inside the marked off
areas with coarse sandpaper before applying glue.
- Glue the pads in place. For fiberglass or kevlar boats, use West System
slow curing epoxy thickened with
adhesive filler. For aluminum
or roto-molded boats, use 3M 5200 adhesive. Be careful not to get
glue on the threads. Apply glue to both
mating surfaces (the mounting pad and the boat bottom). Push the pad into place and scrape away the excess
glue with a tongue depressor or squeegee.
- Check the distance between the holes before you let the
glue set up. It must be 50-1/2 inches (plus or minus 1/16 inch).
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