H34 Cabin top Grab Rails.....

[PGIJon]

Right before I first purchased the H34 the PO cleaned up and varnished the grab rails. I decided they needed some serious work and removed them last week. I tried to clean them up but it appears as though they were neglected over a period of time. I've now decided to replace them, so I ordered the following... 2 of the 6 Loop hand rails from here.. http://www.go2marine.com/product/35422F/marinco-afi-teak-handrails-deck-hardware.html666700333

Now that I've removed them and have tried to clean up where they were set. See Pics... I removed a lot of the gunk with a razor blade, but this is about the best I could do.. Not sure where to go from here... chemicals, sand or paint over? I've temporarily filled the holes with MS's Butyl Tape. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks...
Jon

 

[markwbird]

wet sand with 600 grit followed by 1000 grit followed by rubbing compound followed by wax. If that doesn't do it I do not know what will.

 

[Don Crowther]

+1

wet sand with 600 grit followed by 1000 grit followed by rubbing compound followed by wax. If that doesn't do it I do not know what will.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Everything that markwbird said except maybe hold off on the wax until after you've attached the handrails. Gives the butyl rubber a better chance of sticking to the unwaxed gel.

If you've got brand new teak rails going on to the exterior, you may want to give them a permanent finish by coating them with epoxy resin.

The stern seat shown below is about six years old and still looks like wet varnish ................. five coats of epoxy and three of varnish for UV protection. The finishing trick for a long life is to ensure they are 100% hermetically sealed against water ingress.

Whichever epoxy you decide to use, check the mfg. web site for their catalogues as they have outstanding writeups for jobs such as this.

 

[kloudie1]

I am curious to know if the screws were going into an embedded plate or are they wood screws into the glass and core?

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

I am curious to know if the screws were going into an embedded plate or are they wood screws into the glass and core?

Claude, on mine they were machine screws with a washer, lockwasher and nut under the false ceiling. So you have to take that down to do the handrail job.

 

[kloudie1]

But Dave.... you only have one in stock and the cost is $33 more each..

 

[kloudie1]

Claude.. I have had the long cover plates off the ceiling and there is nothing there on mine.. the hand holds are not thru bolted into the cabin as I expected.

 

[justsomeguy]

Claude.. I have had the long cover plates off the ceiling and there is nothing there on mine.. the hand holds are not thru bolted into the cabin as I expected.

That's something I've been ruminatin' on, recently. Would it work to have handholds, both on deck and below, whose mounting points could be through-bolted to each other? Subject to ergonomics, of course.

I hope this makes sense.

Can of worms?

 

[PGIJon]

As usual thank you for all your great responses!


Markwbird, I’ll be out with sandpaper tomorrow!


Ralph, thanks for the idea for the epoxy resin.. Which one did you use?


Dave, I check your prices first (as I always do) and if they were even close I would have purchased those.


Kloudie – Like Claude’s mine simply had a washer and a nylon lock nut. Something more substantial might be called for.


Happy Holidays and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all!

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Ralph, thanks for the idea for the epoxy resin.. Which one did you use?

System Three Silvertip resin. But as I said, they're all the same except for the technical information offerred.

There's more in the manual than you would ever want to know.

 

[PGIJon]

Thanks Ralph!

One last question regarding the seating of the new rails... I'm planning to use MS's Butyl Tape where the screws go through the cabin top, but should I also use the tape under the teak as well to seal it?

Thanks
Jon

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

You definitely want a seal between the cabin top and the bottom of the teak grab rails. Without this, water will get between the two by capilliary action, be slow to dry out and promote water ingress into the wood.

Check out Mainesail's article on using butyl tape. Be sure to bevel the holes on the outer surface of the cabin FG in order to create a hydraulic wedge to force the butyl into the holes.

 

[Allan12210]

Try acetone before sandpaper.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

That's something I've been ruminatin' on, recently. Would it work to have handholds, both on deck and below, whose mounting points could be through-bolted to each other? Subject to ergonomics, of course.

I hope this makes sense.

Can of worms?

JSG, on the 34 the cabin top outside handrails are at the edge of the cabin top. The inside ones are each side of the center of the cabin making it easy to hold on to when in a seaway. If you did as suggested it would put them too far towards the sides for convenience. Perhaps other models are different.

 

[PGIJon]

Thanks Ralph and Allan! Acetone is ready and holes are beveled!

 

[neilleparkerjr]

That's something I've been ruminatin' on, recently. Would it work to have handholds, both on deck and below, whose mounting points could be through-bolted to each other? Subject to ergonomics, of course. I hope this makes sense. Can of worms?

Inside and outside handrails with aligned mounting points were a nice feature of my previous boat, an ODay 30. Both were handy on that boat but every boat is different....