re-attaching cleats

well my rs300 kicker cleats keep coming out. it is the tension of the toestrap elastics pulling them outwards i think. i was thinking of drilling the holes bigger and filling with epoxy and then drilling small holes and using a self tapper to try and get a better hold (the deck is very thin).

can anyone tell me if this will work or have any better suggestions?

cheers tom

You've got to get something in behind if you can.  Don't drill out and fill with epoxy - you'll just pull out the epoxy.  You could try and screw the fitting in place with loads of araldite so that it both fills the screw threads and glues the fitting to the gell coat but if you've got forces trying to lift it rather than in shear I'd still be sceptical of a long term fix. 

You could try spreading the load by fixing a plate to the outside so that several fixings go through and then mount the cleat on that but it won't look good.

The hatch can be some way away. On my Contender when I was fittling reaching toe-straps I managed to epoxy on backing plates under the deck even though the nearest hatch was almost 2m away:-

Drill screw holes in the deck in the correct positions for the final fitting, feed ropes through the holes and out of the nearest hatch hatch(might need to make a hook with some wire and a tiller extension), feed the ropes through the pre drilled/epoxied backing pads and knot, pull the ropes back through from deck side applying enough tension to get a good bond, let the epoxy cure then poke/drill the rope out and screw the fitting on. Worked a treat.

I considered bonding some M4 nuts/washers onto the pads so I could through bolt but thought keeping them clear of epoxy might be difficult and you probably only get one go at it.

It sounds as easy as replacing the transom plate bolts on a Topper.

Shear the head off the loose nut, make the hole a bit bigger, turn the boat on its starboard side, remove the bung assembly, feed a length of weighted whipping twine through bolt hole in the transom plate.
When you can see the whipping twine dangle in the bung hole, quickly grab it, attach (firmly) a bolt and washer to it and gently pull the twine out ot the hole in the transom. 
The bolt should follow. You just have to secure the bolt with a washer and NyLoc, make sure you've applied sealant and do it again for the other nuts.
Easy...

I've been there. It could be seen as a boat-related form of mental torture.