square nuts to fit SlideTrax rail

[Jeremy Peake]

I have a 2010 Commander 120, and wonder if anyone has found square nuts to fit the rails?   I saw a couple posts where people had luck using 5/16-18 square nuts on the Tarpon.  The Commander must have a different rail profile or something, because the 5/16 nuts I found are way too tall to fit.  The rail in the Commander will take a max height of 1/8 inch, and width of 5/8 inch.

I want to rig some of my own mounts, just need to find square nuts to fit.  Guess I could take the die grinder to the ones I bought if all else fails...

Thanks!

[DAVID]

Palm do a complete range of nuts and fittings to use with the slide rails

[Jeremy Peake]

had a guy at my work make some up out of stainless. This should last me a lifetime!

[Chris Hill]

Hook1 has the Trax System Hardware on their Website (Brass Rectangular Nuts (http://kayakfishinggear.com/). If you Select Hardware and Fasteners and then click on Track System Hardware you will see the Nuts, 4 x $12.00). They also have a "T" Screw (Long and Short) that works very well and doesn't require an Allen Wrench

Chris

[DAVID]

Possibly we're missing the point here ... why don't Wilderness Systems supply slide nuts for their tracks.... or is that too obvious!!!!! As usual 'form over function'.

[james p shank]

Talking to a buddy of mine who is a woodworker like me and he said, "did you notice that the little nuts and bolts that fit the slide trax on the commander look just like the ones on the router and saw tables?

Well, I never thought about it, but now that you mention it....

"yup, went by woodcraft, and they looked exactly the same, so I just bought a bag and bingo...."

Try woodcraft.com and see if they are online....?
jim

[Jeff Madre]

I'm also a woodworker, so I thought about the fasteners at Woodcraft. We kayak fish quite a bit in saltwater and I didn't think the plating on that hardware would last long. It should be okay for 'true' freshwater, but even our freshwater is brackish around here.

While rigging my wife's Tarpon, I figured out I could use brass bolts designed to secure toilets to the pipe flange. Make sure you get the solid brass ones, not the brass-plated steel. The kit I bought included brass nylon lock nuts to complete the installation.

The heads on the bolts are barely wide enough to keep from turning as they come out of the package. I used my ball peen hammer to draw out the length a little to prevent the bolt from turning until I could get it tight.

On a related note, while moving the rear attachment points around recently I discovered that the brass on the OEM square nuts had quite a bit of corrosion on it. I globbed some grease on each plate before reassembly.

I was wondering why stainless steel wasn't used, but I figured it was to prevent the aluminum extrusions from getting mangled. Brass is soft enough it may prevent that type of damage.

[Jeremy Peake]

Thanks for the tips guys! I have enough stainless steel ones to last a long time.

Gonna use a black cutting board to make my own "SideBoards" to mount rod holder, fish finder etc. (not my idea, found a blog post somewhere)

Will post some pics when it's done. Ordered some stuff from Hook1, should have it today

[M. Mastro]

You can use T-Nuts they fit and work well....

[Joe Corrigan]

I found two solutions. I purchased a strip of aluminum at H.D. Or Lowes it comes in about 1/8" thick multiple widths and lengths. I purchased the width that would fit the rail.. I cut in 1 1/2" - 2" lengths and had to Grind a bit off the width. I drilled and taped to 1/4 - 20. The only trouble I had was it is aluminum and the threads could pull. The other solution was using the bolts used to bolt a toilet to the floor. There are several sizes and lengths. Remember to place a nut on the bolt before cutting it off so you can run it over the threads after cutting the excess bolt off and clean the cut.

It's a shame the supplier is greedy with the price of the sq nuts.


Good luck

[Rob Goebel]

I use that aluminum from Lowes with 10-32 bolts and nothing has slipped yet. I dropped my commander one day and the bolts held fine even when the dashboard brokes I had made out of wood as a prototype.

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r175/archeryrob/Kayak/SlideTrax1...[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r175/archeryrob/Kayak/SlideTrax2...[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r175/archeryrob/Kayak/SlideTrax3...[/IMG]

The slide Trax nuts that came with the commander are Brass.

[Joe Corrigan]

Perfect-o.  Nice job.  Looks like you used a drill press or your better at hitting the center than I am.  I think the 1/4-20's pulled because I was putting a side load on them as well as pulling.  The ones that pulled were the ones holding the Fishing Buddy bracket I fashioned.

I do echo David's comment on why not be able to get them from W.S. without paying an arm or a leg.  The last time I looked they were 4 for $20.00 and thats just is a bit greedy.

[Rob Goebel]

I only use a hand drill and a tap made like a screw driver. I cut the strips 1" long Then you draw a pencil line from corner. I use a center punch and make a dent right where the lines cross. Drill your hole and use the tap. Then it's perfectly in the center. :)

Then round the corners with a file, grinder or what ever. It pretty simple and low tech for tools. Most anyone should be able to do it.

I would prefer to use the stainless like Jeremy has, and you can go to the metal dealer and buy the stock. If you use stainless get some oil and use it when drilling and especially using the tap. WS are made from a bass or bronze which would both be tougher than aluminum. I have yet to have an issue with these anchors pulling out. Remember the entire trax is screwed down to a plastic kayak. LOL There has to be a limit to the amount of stress you apply to it just for that reason.