Epic V10L foot plate mod

As one used to pushing against the balls of my feet when I paddle, I always found it challenging to try to push with my heels in my V10L when conditions got a bit dicey. Usually I would end up hitting the rudder (which sometimes allowed me to sample the water conditions much more intimately than I desired ). The problem is that the foot plate is too short for my feet.

I found a solution a few days ago. Noting how the foot well mounts with 4 countersunk screws (two on each side, aligned vertically) to a bracket on the adjustment mechanism, I saw an easy fix. I removed the footwell, measured the hole distances, and drilled another screw hole the same distance below each pair of existing screw holes. By mounting the plate with the lower two of the now three holes, I moved the foot plate up just over 1/2". I also adjusted the rudder pedals to angle away from me just a bit more. When all was said and done, the results were excellent. I can now push with my whole foot and not touch the rudder, but the pedals are easy to access with my toes when needed.

Just be careful, the plate is beefed up (thicker) at the original mounting points and relies on support from the bottom of the footwell as well.

I was going to do exactly as you have done until this was pointed out by Greg Barton.....

So far it seems to be working well. I just used the boat in a race today. The now upper hole is one of the original holes, so it would be in the stronger section. I may put a rubber block or similar under the foot plate to give some support to the bottom.