I needed to repair a few areas on the pod that had damaged gelcoat. I chipped a fairly large chunk out of a corner. The gelcoat doesn't appear to be bonded very well to the fiberglass underneath and you need to be careful when handling the pod to avoid dropping/bumping in too hard. Even applying too much hand pressure to hold it in place while sanding resulted in some fine cracks. I repaired these with a structural adhesive that I have used before on my boat. The product is a two-part mix called "Marine-Tex". It makes a very strong bond, but sands very easily. I was going to use the same material to mount the pod brackets but decided instead to use a more flexible body sealant. I then secured each bracket with two rivets. I would not suggest that you buck these rivets, but use a rivet squeezer as to not damage the fiberglass.