Grab Rail & Hatch Rail Replacements

fiestaMojo · Jan 4, 2014

grab rails

I replaced the teak grab rails (hand holds?) on my 33 last Spring. . . I could not find exact replacements - length or center-to-center distance; pulled all the old stuff off, epoxied the holes, and mounted new rails, thru-bolting them with 1/4 x 20 hardware and fender washers on the inside. . . Seabound Supply had about the best prices for the grab rails, and a good selection of lengths. . .

robwalten · Jan 5, 2014

Previous owner of my H-30C replaced the teak with SS grabrails-HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! No maintenance. I have the invoice if interested. Located in Virginia.

malyea · Jan 5, 2014

robwalten said:
Previous owner of my H-30C replaced the teak with SS grabrails-HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! No maintenance. I have the invoice if interested. Located in Virginia.

Can you post photos plz? Thanks

Nelsonhow · Jan 6, 2014

Replaced the exterior rails on my h27 with 1 inch stainless. Tool me oh 2 day to do. Came out great. Or cut your own rails rom teak or other wood

rardiH36 · Jan 6, 2014

I second all of the previous suggestions.

Use your existing grab rails as templates to fashion new from wood. Epoxy the old holes so you don't need to be concerned about the new fasteners matching up exactly. IPE is a good substitute for teak (and a lot less expensive).

Or go stainless which was my choice. Both for ease of future maintenance and to impart a more modern look. The opening post of this thread has my result. http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=991790&highlight=hand rail

malyea · Jan 7, 2014

Sheepdog683 said:
Does anyone have a good vendor they have used for replacement cabin grab rails, top hatch rails, and cockpit hatch rails? I tried HunterOwners.com and they said they did not have anything for a 1977 Hunter 27'.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Rick

Couple questions...

Assuming the exterior teak cabin top handrails are original on my '82 H30 - how are they mounted to the cabin top? Is there an aluminum bolt plate imbedded in the fiberglass for machine screws or are they wood screwed into the wood core? If they are thru bolted, it's not apparent due to the interior liner...

I assume the "cabin grab rails" you refer to are on the exterior cabin roof (or are they on the interior cabin roof?) but what exactly are the "top hatch rails, and cockpit hatch rails" that you refer to?

Thanks

Nelsonhow · Jan 7, 2014

Here's how I did it.

As I said before I replaced the teak handrails on my 1978 H 27 with two 10 foot 1 inch stainless tubes. (One on each side) that I bought from west marine. Shipping cost for a 10 foot lengths made west marine the best option. I cut them down to about 9 feet or so to match the length of the old wool rails at the very end of the instillation process.

I used a 45 degree stainless rail ends standoffs. One at each end , four in all and 4 or 5 90 degree standoffs in the middle of each side ( sorry but I do t remember the number. ...just count the number of bows in the old wood rail)
I bought all the stainless standoffs on line. Much cheaper the WM. The standoffs on the middle slide along the tube so you can move them where you need them.

The old hand rails are simply screwed into the fiberglass deck with long wood brass screws right under a teak bung. To remove the bung put a dry wall screw with the head cut off in an electric drill and screw it slowly into the center of the teak bung. When the screw hits the brass wood screw under the bung it will stop going in and the bung will pop out. Then using a good the right sized screwdriver bit in your drill the brass wood screw can be removed. Go slow so you don't strip the brass screw head. Don't ask how I know.

Fill the old holes with some thickened epoxy. The new standoffs will be about centered over the old screws were but you will not be using the old holes. The old filled hole should be about in the center if the foot of the standoff so you won't see them. It would be best to used stainless machine screws with backing washers under the cabin top liner for he new standoffs but that would be an awful lot of work on the liner inside the cabin. I didn't think it was worth the effort. And the wood screws worked well on my h27 for 20 plus years. Each stainless stand off has, as I remember, 4 screws as opposed to the 1 on each bend of the wood rail so I assume it's 4x as strong. You need to use course thread stainless wood screws o the correct size about 5/8" or 1" in pre drilled holes. But you'll have to check to make sure they don't go through the liner. I filled each new hole with 4200 caulking before I put the new screw in and 4200 under each standoff foot.

Realize that your cabin top is not straight. It bows and bends in. I was able to approximate the bow by hand on one tube and then copy it to the other. Before I removed the handrails. I didn't worry about the camber I the cabin top that took care of itself as I fastened down each standoff. Before I removed the old wood rails. This left me with two10 foot bent tubes. I then removed the wood rails. I started on one side and fixed the bow end standoff in place and then proceeded to work the bend towards the stern until I had a good bend to match the cabin top. I then started to screw each standoff into place. Then I used a hacksaw to trim the tube to the final length. The length was just long enough so the stern end standoff was right over the last old hole.

It took a bit of thought experiment and planning but only about 5 hours to install. Looked great and very functional. I no longer have boat but I'll see if I have a have a picture on Ike of he result.

I'm typing o the train commute home on my iPhone. So please forgive any typos.

Nelsonhow.

Delezynski · Jan 7, 2014

Rick,

You might want to watch a short Youtube video I did when I replaced the hand rails on our 27 foot boat.

It's at; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP7KS2knxn4&feature=share

*** Note, this video is in 3D, but you can turn that off by going to the bottom and clicking on the small gear symbol, then selecting 3D off.

Greg

David in Sandusky · Jan 7, 2014

Another stainless rail approach

A prior owner replaced the teak rail on our '77 h27 with a short, stainless rail that runs from the companionway to just aft of the aft stay. We transfer from the rail to the stays as we move forward, and are, and feel quite safe inside the stays.

The pay off is that the forward cabin roof is a great seat for a couple of crew out of the cockpit, with a fine view ahead.

And like all of the stainless options maintenance is nil.

Here are a couple of pictures:

DianaOfBurlington · Jan 14, 2014

David, that's a pretty short grab rail for that part of the boat! Any concerns--?

I have made these many times and will make anyone new ones from their old ones. It's what I do.

David in Sandusky · Jan 15, 2014

Looks short, but...

I agree, JC, they look short.

But when you reach the front of the handle going forward, the aft shroud is right there at your outboard hand. Even inexperienced sailors find this natural, and secure. Sitting on the coach roof inboard of the shrouds is both comfortable, and secure.

It's the favorite place for all passengers, young and old.

DianaOfBurlington · Jan 17, 2014

David in Sandusky said:
when you reach the front of the handle going forward, the aft shroud is right there at your outboard hand. Even inexperienced sailors find this natural, and secure. Sitting on the coach roof inboard of the shrouds is both comfortable, and secure.

It's the favorite place for all passengers, young and old.

There you go then.

(Mine are actually too long, not too short. They'll trip you a little on the foredeck.)

FredV · Jan 19, 2014

David - do your SS rails get too hot to handle in the summer?

David in Sandusky · Jan 20, 2014

No, they stay cool!

The rails stay cool, even in the blazing summer sun with temperatures over 90.

FredV · Jan 21, 2014

Damn! I think you just added another project to my way too long list!

Grab Rail & Hatch Rail Replacements

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