Hand Rail Refinish Question

[IOLANI]

So IOLANI is in dire need of handrail refinish. The marina where we keep her moored in the summer is not really conducive to a lot of noise and dust from power tool scrapping /sanding. The marina that has her up on the hard has strict rules which prohibit any sanding or painting unless you use their services.

I was looking at it today and thinking if I added a splice just forward of the aft deck (red cut line in top photo) I would be able to remove the vast majority of it, have it refinished in a shop setting and then put it back in place. The remaining aft section I could handle at the marina with hand sanding and scraping.

The splice could be made using another pair of hinge sockets or similar, with future removal facilitated by simply driving out the pin.

Would there be any downside to making this modification ? Seems it would sure make life simpler for me.

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[ian w]

I would take it to your nearest anchorage then run the generator and electric sand it

[Timeless72]

I would take it to your nearest anchorage then run the generator and electric sand it

Same. Did this while traveling up the Missouri years ago. Passes the time and no one to bother you.

[Pascal]

Way too much work to remove them. Go anchor out and do it on the hook

[SEVEN]

From the side doors forward remove and do in a shop in the off season. The rest do at anchor or while cruising.

[Scarlett]

I agree with Rusty, just did mine. The forward section to the gates is easy to remove and you end up with a much better finish on the bottom of the rail.

[jmooney]

Last time we used heat to remove the old finish.Much faster than sanding, although it still needs some sanding. Not as messy as chemical stripping. Chemical strippers don’t work very well these days.

[cww]

Oh for f*ck's sake don't do that. You will end up losing some of the hardware, and it'll never go back 100% the way it was. I made this mistake on my Chris-Craft. Never again. It's not that hard to just do it in place.

[IOLANI]

From the side doors forward remove and do in a shop in the off season. The rest do at anchor or while cruising.

I agree with Rusty, just did mine. The forward section to the gates is easy to remove and you end up with a much better finish on the bottom of the rail.

I see this as a fair compromise and the best course of action for me. The labor to remove and replace the forward handrail sections has to be easier than trying to scrape and sand and properly refinish the bottom side while still attached to the posts.

Thanks to all for your input.

[SKYCHENEY]

I have removed mine twice. Not a big deal but you may need to heat the front fittings to release the 5200.