Anyone take off their cabin top handrails? It looks like you have to take off the rails inside to get to the nuts that hold the outside handrails. Anyone confirm that?? Thanks!!
Cabin top hand rail
- Thread starter Arrgh
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,886
Sounds about normal.
I removed my cabin top hand rails. I had to pull the bungs in my teak hand rails. That gave access to the screw heads. It was a two crew project with one on the cabin top holding a screw driver and me inside removing the nuts. When released I could repair the holes that allowed water to leak into the boat and clean up then varnish the teak rails. Installation was just reversing the process. Varnish the underside of the hand rails before installation. Save the top side till you have installed the hand rail, reinserted the bungs to cover the screw tops, and cut off the excess bung plus sanded the bung top smooth. Then you’re ready to varnish the top side of the rail.
I removed my cabin top hand rails. I had to pull the bungs in my teak hand rails. That gave access to the screw heads. It was a two crew project with one on the cabin top holding a screw driver and me inside removing the nuts. When released I could repair the holes that allowed water to leak into the boat and clean up then varnish the teak rails. Installation was just reversing the process. Varnish the underside of the hand rails before installation. Save the top side till you have installed the hand rail, reinserted the bungs to cover the screw tops, and cut off the excess bung plus sanded the bung top smooth. Then you’re ready to varnish the top side of the rail.
I removed mine way back because of the constant water dripping into the cabin from the holes of the handrail. A fine example of the "drill, screw and hope for the best" work. I found many of the spacers (plastic blocks) had been mis aligned which lead to further reassembly challenges. Once the holes were enlarged, filled with epoxy and re drilled, I installed the newly scrubbed, sanded and teak oiled railing. I used butyl under and on top of the spacer blocks. Instead of replacing the teak bungs, I inserted butyl first, then a washer and tightened down with a cap nut for aesthetics. All stainless of course.
Also check the Title "34 Handrails" on this forum from other members. Their end product is far superior to mine.
What originally made me look was that there is water somehow getting in that closet space across from the head. Water is inside the molded liner and working its way to hull side and saturating the bulkhead that the chainplates attack to. I'm thinking it has to be leaking from the handrails and dripping down....maybe
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,886
That is certainly a possibility. Water does try to go down hill… until it doesn’t. I know sounds illogical. And it is until you see how water finds its way into the most unusual places on a boat.
But never mind. I think you are on to a likely suspect. I noticed the same situation. I saw that some of the water had a brown tint to it. It happens when the water is rotting some of the core.
After 50 plus years stuff happens. I went at the possible sources and did discover that the hand rails were a leak source. I fixed them. This resolved 80% of the issue on my boat.
Hope it resolves all of your challenge.
But never mind. I think you are on to a likely suspect. I noticed the same situation. I saw that some of the water had a brown tint to it. It happens when the water is rotting some of the core.
After 50 plus years stuff happens. I went at the possible sources and did discover that the hand rails were a leak source. I fixed them. This resolved 80% of the issue on my boat.
Hope it resolves all of your challenge.