1979 H30 Teak handrail removal.

[Robert1224]

Hello,

Curious on how the removal of teak handrails has been accomplished on an H30 or other early Hunter. Is it simply a case of drilling out the wooden plugs out and then unscrewing the fasteners or is there a technique that makes it easier.

Regards,
Bob

 

[Nereussailor]

Cut the head of a deck screw off and chuck it in a drill. Slowly drill down through the center of the plug. As it goes in the plug lifts out. It does come out in pieces though so you won't be able to re-use it

 

[Dan_Y]

When replacing teak plugs, I had better luck buying the tapered plug bit and making my own tapered plugs on my drill press. The plugs that you buy at the store are sections of dowel. The tapered plugs work better when you tap them in place. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[ggrizzard]

You could just screw a spare wood screw into the plug by hand, slowly, and the plug will come out easily. You won't risk the embedded screw head that way. Also, when reinstalling, check the screw depth if you buy new screws as they may go into the cabin liner if not careful. You can guess how I know.

 

[braol]

The old plugs come out surprisingly well with the screw method...so much so that when I did some work on my interior I was angry that I hadn't done the project sooner. Use a small diameter screw. I also have found that drilling a small (real small...like a wire brad) pilot hole first helps the plug come out in one piece and not splinter.

 

[Nelsonhow]

Handrail removal and replacement

The teak handrails are simply screwed into the deck with brass wood screws covered by a teak plug which is cut off and sanded to match the curve of the handrail. The plugs come out easily as others have described with a course sheet rock screw with the head cut off mounted in an electric drill. The brass screws don't always come out easily as the are prone I stripping. Using the right sized Phillips screwdriver bit and a battery powered drill worked best for me.

Once removed the question was how to replace them. On my old H27 I replaced them with 1" stainless tubes with stainless standoffs every 18" or so. I filled each old screw hole with epoxy paste and put a 4 hole standoff on top to cover the old hole. The trick was getting the 10 foot tube pre bent to match the camber and curve of the deck. I did it by eye with very satisfactory results. The two rails (port and starboard could have been divided into smaller sections. I'm considering doing this on my current h30.

The h27 toa day to complete.

Go for it !

 

[sandpiper10471]

I have used the screw extraction method many times. If the plug was well glued in or if the finish was in good condition, more often than not, the plug would chip the surrounding wood upon removal. Now I use a 3/8 forstener bit to remove the plugs. No chipping, no screw head damage, and a nice clean hole for the new plug.