I appreciate the replies. I was checking out PVC at Lowe's tonight and I do not think I want to go that route. Just too flimsy for my liking. The more I keep kicking around how I wan to build this thing the more expensive it gets.

Mounting the ram ball, also called gimbals, on my canoe is out of the question as the gunwales are only about 2 inches wide. To do so would require the fabrication of an aluminum mount. In addition anything I put on the canoe has to be removable as I do not want to leave it at the mooring slip. There is no way to secure it there. I feel kind of stupid for failing to mention that at the beginning. Maneuverability is not an issue on the small still waters that I fish. Stability is given my worsening battle with inner ear/balance/vertigo and having people in the canoe that have little or no canoeing experience.

Teasels put my mind at ease about the quality of the manufactured ones. Do you have the Ethafoam or the HD ones? If I build these things the way I build stuff then I will be over the $100 dollar mark and that is just for the materials. So I am now leaning towards buying the set in the canoegear link.

One thing this does is add to the resale value of my canoe. So, when I am ready to buy a new boat in a year or two, I should get some returns there. Of course, knowing old soft hearted me, I will make someone a sweetheart of a deal on it.