Drilling into Thermoform

Hi all,

I'm thinking about picking up an Eddyline C-109 and setting it up to fish. I know the boat has a little track up forward, but according to the rep I talked to the rear well is not going to fit my trusty dusty milk crate. Looks like I'm going to have to find another way to put sticks on board.

I want to flush mount a couple of rod holders behind the seat. It's something I've done a few times without issue in a rotomolded boat, but the rep I spoke with advised that I ask around before I go putting holes in this hull.

Does anyone here have experience mounting rod holders on their Eddyline? Are special tools required? I have a decent impact driver and can borrow a friend's drill, but I wonder if a dremel is necessary for the job/if it is a foolhardy errand altogether.
My limited understanding is that there is a higher risk of the hull cracking around where you are working if your tool isn't fast enough to melt as it bores. Any truth to this?

Thanks for the advice!

You definitely need to be more careful when drilling as it can crack and chip. It's been a while since I owned a PVC kayak, but I seem to recall that forstner bits are to be avoided...

Just make sure of the spot you want  apply masking tape to th area use sharp tools  and don't push  to hard let the tool do th e work. Clean up the hole with a file should be a piece of cake I've had several eddyline's and never had a problem with rigging  good luck

I have used standard metal bits for smaller holes, wood bits for holes up to 1” , and hole saws for larger ones. The metal bits, and hole saws are easy, but the wood bits need to be kept super straight and you need to slow down when it is almost through. The Eddylines drill easy with whatever bit you are using. If you want to be safe just use a hole saw for anything over 1/2”

Good Luck

I went with round flush-mount Scotty bases behind the seat instead of normal flush-mounted tubes because I was worried about flipping with my rods in the tubes. The torque from your rod can put a lot of pressure on rod tubes if your flip. This way, the scotty bases take the brunt of the damage/torque if I flipped.

I went with round flush-mount Scotty bases behind the seat instead of normal flush-mounted tubes because I was worried about flipping with my rods in the tubes. The torque from your rod can put a lot of pressure on rod tubes if your flip. This way, the scotty bases take the brunt of the damage/torque if I flipped.

I’m trying to picture that - so it uses a Scotty stem with a tube or some kind of vertical holder?

Great choice with the round scotty i have installed them on all of my eddylines ,imake a backing plate for them and I believe that there is nothing stronger for that area plus the versatility of choice  of which style of accessories ycan use

I’d normall stick a Scotty rod tube into these round bases. But like BigRed said, you can use other accessories in there too...like a downrigger.