So, based on the learnings here, I decided to cut rail openings in my WeatherTech...and I'll say that overall I am pleased with the results.
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Thanks to the others before me for attempting, I picked up some ideas. One of which was to leave the areas that Weathertech wants you to cutout for the normal luggage tiedowns in place - this provided some extra rigidity along the edges. You lose ~3" of travel at the trunk opening and another ~2" 2/3rds up where the other one is, but I think it's worth it for the stability. I may try to open them up in the future if the base seems stable enough. There is a little curling near the cuts - will probably use some velcro tape underneath to hold a few of the edges down. Otherwise, you get full freedom of movement along the rails and the added protection of the cover...
All I used was a Husky box cutter and a roll of Duct Tape to mark the lines. The Duct tape is basically the exact width of the luggage rail - so by putting it down on the mat and cutting around it, it gave me a nice, straight edge to work with.
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I did put a 2x4 under the area I was cutting (see bottom area already cut; top area still taped), so that I could use full, constant pressure to go through the mat. With a sharp knife and constant pressure, I was pretty easily able to cut through the mat along the taped edge. I did it in one cut - either stupid or ballsy depending on your view - but that meant I kept a pretty smooth edge overall.
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The final product, with luggage strap (thanks @PartsbyTopher) and the luggage net installed.
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