actually the damage came from constantly having my jig rod in that flushmount. A 9 foot rod with an iron hanging all day long puts a lot of stress on the rivets closest to you and those two ended up popping out and the rod fell forward. I'm glad I recognized the pop as rivets pulling out and had my hands free! I had an incling that it would happen soon because as my rod would rest in the flushmount a gap would be present on the edge between the back to rivets and it flexed quite a bit. I would NOT trust trolling anything more than a sabiki on my traditional rivet side. And even that is taking its toll.
My reinforcement idea worked out really well, except I did a trial edition with much cheaper, and thinner plastic then I would like. I might end up having to cruise over to oex to pick up some new flushmounts to go with the project as well. Once I get all the proper equipment I'll post up pics. It's a simple idea with great results this far.
I think once I have all my flushmounts reinforced, I'm going to spray that cheap rubber car undercoat all throughout the inside. That would seal any small leaks on installed gear, and make my boat a dark hunter green
I love being recognizable on the water but damn.. this boat shows EVERY bit of dirt.
Not to mention how easy it would be to clean fish out of it! Just gotta give it a good scrub down on the inside first!