Hey Jeremy,
I personally would have liked to install my own Cargo Fly instead of shipping my boat back to Alpacka. I feel I would have even done a better job gluing it on, as it is I have already had to re-glue the edge where Alpacka did not get the glue all the way to the edge. I did this immediately after I opened the box I got from Alpacka, not wanting to get sand/grit in the area to be re-glued, or have the area lift even more. You can find T-zip zippers on Ebay occasionally, you just need to find the right size. I kept looking for the right size, but in the end I got my tax return money and said screw it & shipped my boat in, good thing since they raised the price recently. There is no special reinforcement. just a piece of fabric with rounded corners glued over the outside edges of the zipper. I love the Cargo Fly, the improved way the boat paddles loaded up, and would recommend it to anyone, but you definitely do not have to be a rocket scientist to install one. You do need the inside bags, to protect the boat and keep the load from shifting. Another item easily made, zipper or roll top dry bag made to the right size but it does need to be inflateable after loading it in the boat (protects the tubes), plus it adds secondary flotation.
Jeremy,
On a side note, if you put two small pieces of bungee cord on the bottom of your backband and tie it off to the rear seat tabs it will keep the backband stable and in a upright position. You can also get rid of the upper strap and do the same thing on top with bungee cord to get the weight down and it allows the backband to move more freely yet stays suported. 4 points of contact, 2 up, 2 down.
