Just removed the hand rails for an easier refinish. Would like to replace the skinny little nuts/washers that hold the rail to the boat with something more robust. Does anyone know what those nuts are (size/thread)? And are they SAE or Metric?
Hand Rail Refinish
- Thread starter LittleFrog
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Hah! got it: Took one of the old nuts in and had it "sized". For those that need to remove their hand rails - the nut is a 3/8 inch with 24 threads per inch (10/24). I will be replacing the existing nut with an oversized washer and a nylon lock nut (both in stainless). The nylon lock nut is about 3 times thicker than the little nut that was original, giving me something for the socket to get a grip on.
I knew you were going to solve that one. I was going to mention it to you and I hesitated for that reason.
I'm horrible when it comes to sizing nut/bolt and threads sizes, so I just take the nut to my local hardware store and size it up with a bolt.
You will be doing this quite a bit for as long as you own your boat and perform the yearly maintenance chores on her, I guarantee it.
I would guess you'll find a gap between the deck and headliner. I think it worth your while to fill this with thickened (cabosil) epoxy before replacing the rail. Means you can tighten the bolts against something solid (not just trying to crush the air gap) so leaks are much less likely and any leaks that do develop will end up in the cabin where you can notice and fix them - not water between the deck and liner.
Good Resource
Found a great place for nuts, bolts, washers, etc. : Howard Brothers True Value Hardware - Duluth, GA. ((770) 476-3006)
They have a huge room full of bins with every size nut, bolt, etc. you can imagine and in just about any kind of metal you can imagine too. Prices are really reasonable (my stainless nylon lock nuts were 35 cents. Online from boat supply places were MUCH higher).
Quite right. Definition of a boat: Hole in the water that you throw money into.
Found a great place for nuts, bolts, washers, etc. : Howard Brothers True Value Hardware - Duluth, GA. ((770) 476-3006)
They have a huge room full of bins with every size nut, bolt, etc. you can imagine and in just about any kind of metal you can imagine too. Prices are really reasonable (my stainless nylon lock nuts were 35 cents. Online from boat supply places were MUCH higher).
On my 25, the handrails bolt only through the outer skin. There is a hole cut in the inner liner that allow you to reach the nuts. The holes are covered with little white snap in plastic discs. If this is the case for you, make sure the bigger washers will fit through the holes. Ernie
Same with my 27. Washers are smaller than the access holes but lots bigger than the ones that came with the boat. Took us almost two hours to get the hand rails off because some of the washers/nuts were imbedded in the fibergrass, no way to get a socket on them. Larger washers and nylon lock nuts should take care of that in the future.
Thanks for the advice,
Bob
Hey guys, this is something I have to do in spring too! Same with the rails for the companionway hatch. She's laid up in her cradle 2 1/2 hrs north of me so not immediately available to examine. She's a1978 Oday 23'. So, am I looking at removing nuts from topside from studs or bolts inside the hull? From both the handrails and the slides?LittleFrog said:
Thanks for anything you an add!
Flyboy, I can't speak for sure on the 23, but I have been doing similar work on my 25. The hand rails bolt through the cabin roof and are accessed inside the cabin. They are covered with little plastic disks, just like ebsail described. The compaionway hatch rails are a little bit different though. They have self tapping screws that screw directly into the fiberglass, with no bolts used. I'm in the process of installing new hatch rails, and am trying to figure out if I should fill the old holes in with epoxy and drill new ones, or try to fill and drill in the same location as the old holes. Also not sure if I will caulk the rail to the hull or what type of sealant to use in between the hatch rail and hull. Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Pictures to come soon. Good luck to you!
I know you may have already completed this but I just finished installing new hatch rails on my 25. We had to drill new holes in new spots for the self tapping screw and it would have been impossible to locate the old holes when going from the top down. So we epoxied the old ones and drilled new ones. We used butyl rubber strip to act as sealant. Worked just fine. Be carful to keep the angle so you dont drill into the track for the hatch. Ernie
I am also in the process of re installing the top side and cabin hand rails on my 35. I had to cut mine off from the topside. I would like to fill in the gap between the liner and am not sure how to go about that. Thinking about injecting a filler.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
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