Rub rail repair

[captcrunch]

My rub rail on the forward port side of my 88 38c got damaged last night by boat being alammed into a pole while docked. All the screws in the area came out. What is the proper way to repair

 

[Boatsb]

Repair what?

Stripped screws is one thing. Shattered or broken fiberglass and an opening in the joint is another.

 

[captcrunch]

Can't tell if the joint is open yet, but doesn't look like the glass is shattered

 

[ageless]

My rub rail on the forward port side of my 88 38c got damaged last night by boat being alammed into a pole while docked. All the screws in the area came out. What is the proper way to repair

user name is kinda fitting

 

[Boatsb]

That's Just cold.

 

[dsharp]

Hard to say without a picture. Probably need to remove the section of guardrail and put thickened resin in the stripped holes. I would slightly countersink the holes before you fill them.

 

[SEVEN]

That's Just cold.

Well at least he's a captain.

 

[SEVEN]

That's Just cold.

I meant that as a joke.

 

[captcrunch]

No offense taken it was funny. The stainless strip is badly bent are those repairable or is replacements availible?

 

[Boatsb]

If you think need new rail spliced in it can be easier to replace the whole piece. You want the same rail as before for it to match. If its stainless there's 2 types. Hollow and solid.

 

[SEVEN]

Only use solid for toe rails. Not sure if this is the correct repair for the screw holes but I epoxy a wood dowl into the hole and once dry drill a new hole then 4200 the new screws in.

 

[Tim Powell]

If you think need new rail spliced in it can be easier to replace the whole piece. You want the same rail as before for it to match. If its stainless there's 2 types. Hollow and solid.

Scott have you ever seen a hollow piece on a Hat. They use the solid exclusively as rub rail i think.
That stuff is expensive. Seems like a couple of hundred books for a 8 foot piece.

 

[Boatsb]

I've never seen a hatt from the factory with hollow but over the years diy means did it wrong.

So many self proclaimed experts leave so many problems and fixes for the next guy.

 

[Pete]

If you can gain access, inspect the area from behind. Given the form of the fiberglass, its shoe box top overlap between the deck and hull, along with likely a layer or two of interior tabbing, something flexed pretty good to put a serious bend in the stainless. Easy way to distinguish hollow versus solid rub rail is the hollow stuff flatten upon impact, where the solid stuff maintains its contour but bends.

Also, doing structural repairs from the inside with fiberglass will make the exterior cosmetic work much easier.

Pete

 

[bobk]

Only use solid for toe rails. Not sure if this is the correct repair for the screw holes but I epoxy a wood dowl into the hole and once dry drill a new hole then 4200 the new screws in.

I use the wood plug method for things that will not see a lot of stress. For repairing screws for a rub rail, an epoxy reinforced with fiberglass or milled fiber would be much better. Dish out the surface a little to increase bonding area.

Bobk

 

[Walter P]

The solid SS is fixable. And it's not too hard to do if you have a torch and a form to rebend it. If you prefer to repair by splicing a new piece where it is bent, be sure to use 316 welding rod. It's really not too difficult but it is time consuming. BTW, if you elect to just replace with new, be careful when you bend ti around a curve as it will kink where the screw holes are. I strongly recommend a repair using a proper torch to get the metal red hot then bend it to the desired radius over a form. A wood form will work for a one time job but it will burn with the heat so keep a bucket of water handy. After cooling it will need to be re buffed to the proper shine. I replaced much of my original rubrail about 15 years ago and it came out really nice. I was able to buy mine at Sailorman. At the time they had a large supply of brand new material in if I remember right, 20 ft lengths. The price was less than half of other quotes that I received. We cut a few into pieces to fit inside my SUV and drove up to NJ. A trusty welding machine and grinding and polishing rejoined them and you cannot see the welds.

Walt

 

[captcrunch]

I was able to take off the damaged section and straighten it mostly with a vice. It's not perfect but should do until winter. There are several screw heads that broke inside and need to be drilled. Other then that looks like scratches I gel coat from the torn rail rubbing.

 

[Walter P]

Sometimes you can get lucky getting out the broken screws by using a left hand twist drill bit. Start with a very small hole and enlarge it to install an easy out. Very often just the use of a left hand drill will generate enough heat to break the screw stub loose and it comes out with the drill.

Walt

 

[Tim Powell]

I was able to take off the damaged section and straighten it mostly with a vice. It's not perfect but should do until winter. There are several screw heads that broke inside and need to be drilled. Other then that looks like scratches I gel coat from the torn rail rubbing.

Get your self a bottle of BAR KEEPERS SOAP AT THE GROCERY MAY BE 3.-- $. A small scrub brush and a water hose be sure to spray the let the stuff sit for about 10 min and wash off. The best darn stuff for stanless. I use it to clean where the power cord goes in it is always getting rough looking.
Might be tuff driling out stanless screws. If you have a drenal tool usually the head of it is pointed if you can get it on the screw it will back out the screws in one fast motion

 

[bigbill]

if you are lucky you can flip the rub rail around,and drill new holes, be sure to fill the old holes with something so they dont leak