OK, here we go, how is the BEST way to remove cabin top handrail plugs? The handrails on my C&C are leaking. Also, good people, the handrails themselves? Thanks.
Handrails
- Thread starter AirborneSF
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I just chisel them out with a screw driver. You are not going to remove them without ruining them. Just be careful not to damage the actual handrail or the slots in the screws underneath. I believe the C&C has a liner in the interior which means that if your handrails are through bolted you will have no way to get to the backing nuts w/o opening up the liner. C&C may have just used tapping screws into the cabin top. Unless somone here has doen the job on a C&C of your vitage, you won't know until you get into too far to turn back. Regardless, you are going to want to through bolt the handrails and there are ways to accomplish this without ruining your liner.
I second the method Ross suggested. It works great without damaging the handrail.
Most of the handrails that are fitted to C&C's were through bolted. The interior liner has holes drilled in it with plastic caps directly over the through bolt nut. Pop the cap off with a thin putty knife and you'll have easy access to the nut. A properly fastened handrail should always be through bolted and not screwed to the deck.
To make refinishing your handrails easier in the future, use a hex head bolt instead if a flat head. Apply some epoxy around the hex head and then put the bung in place. The epoxy will prevent the bolt from spinning when you tighten the nut. When it's time to apply another coat of finish, simply remove the nuts on the interior and the handrail will easily come off without having to remove and reinstall the bungs. No more taping and no drips on the deck.
Most of the handrails that are fitted to C&C's were through bolted. The interior liner has holes drilled in it with plastic caps directly over the through bolt nut. Pop the cap off with a thin putty knife and you'll have easy access to the nut. A properly fastened handrail should always be through bolted and not screwed to the deck.
To make refinishing your handrails easier in the future, use a hex head bolt instead if a flat head. Apply some epoxy around the hex head and then put the bung in place. The epoxy will prevent the bolt from spinning when you tighten the nut. When it's time to apply another coat of finish, simply remove the nuts on the interior and the handrail will easily come off without having to remove and reinstall the bungs. No more taping and no drips on the deck.
In case you haven't seen it be sure to review this thread about bedding hardware with butyl tape. http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=117172
Maine Sail is very fast shipping the tape (look in his signature for ordering info.) I recommend buying from him to support the contributions he makes here, but if you're in a hurry you can buy it at Camping World too. Be sure to get butyl and not the "putty tape" they sell, it is not the same.
Maine Sail is very fast shipping the tape (look in his signature for ordering info.) I recommend buying from him to support the contributions he makes here, but if you're in a hurry you can buy it at Camping World too. Be sure to get butyl and not the "putty tape" they sell, it is not the same.
Thank you all! Good info, which I need and can use, seems every time I fix one leak, another pops up! And I haven't hit an 'iceberg'! Yes there are handrails on the inside that match the ones on the cabin top, I really like the idea of glueing the 'hex' bolt, I hope I can make it work. Again, thank you all.
I second the motion, When I removed my bungs, I used a drill and then threaded a tap in the pre-drilled hole (make sure that the hole you drill is correct for the tap). After I simply used a vice-grip and eased the tap and teak plug out of the handrail.
Only bed the topside handles. Leaving the cabin handles unsealed will make sure you find any leaks before they do too much damage to the core.
I prefer to remove plugs with a forstner drill bit ... run it in reverse first to 'scribe' the surface and to prevent 'tear-outs' of the surface teak, then change drill direction and push until the bit hits the embedded screw, etc. This will leave a clean, unragged bore hole for the 'next' bung; no sense doing the same work twice.
Only problem with a forstner is having a good eyeball to find the exact center of the old bung before drilling (I use an awl and an eyeball) .... but if you 'miss' a wee bit, it wont really matter as the new hole will be 'perfect' and its 'rim' will be cut to a perfect 90°.
Only problem with a forstner is having a good eyeball to find the exact center of the old bung before drilling (I use an awl and an eyeball) .... but if you 'miss' a wee bit, it wont really matter as the new hole will be 'perfect' and its 'rim' will be cut to a perfect 90°.
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