treeman, I just finished up! Maybe I'll launch my boat some time this season?!?
Ok, what you need to do is to get the old bungs out. You can do things like drill a small pilot hole in the center of the bung, then screw in a sheet metal screw. The idea is that the screw bottoms out, and then the threads lift the bung out. I found that worked for maybe 1/2 of the bung. So, you're going to wind up digging out with a sharp knife, and clearing the slots of the Philips screw inside with your knife and/or sharp awl. Make sure you dig out the wood around the diameter of the head of the screw as well, or the screw won't be able to back out, and will get stuck. Don't strip the head (for God's sake don't strip the head!) just run it back in tight and do some more digging.
Depending on how good the bedding material is, you may have to pry the rails off. I was able to pull them off bare handed. They seem to have put some form of caulk (not silicone, probably was something like Life Caulk) only around the screws, so that adheres in a 2" circle or so.
I was able to use my original rails and a sliding bevel T-square to get the correct angles for the front and back of the rails, and cut them to length using a really nice compound miter saw/chop saw type of gizmo.
In the boat, I cleaned out the old holes, and filled with White Marine Tex.
Note that on your old rails, the screws don't go straight down at 90º to the risers. They are actually angled inwards from the outside of the rail down towards the companionway. I did not fully realize this until AFTER I had drilled my holes, and noted that the original holes were further inboard than my new holes. Oh, well.
I tried to line up the rails as best I could. You might make some lines before removing the old rails. Mine seem wider than they need to be for the hatch width, but I feel I haven't experienced enough hatches to adjust to limited slop. Maybe it's desirable to have so much side to side motion? Anyway. I found it difficult to clamp the rails to the cabin top. I think I was able to clamp the aft end with the hatch open, and hold the rails well enough to drill in approximately the same location as the old ones. I used a countersink bit for #8 screws, I think 7/32" bit with 3/8" countersink for the 3/8" plugs from Rudy at D&R. I bought the cheap set from Woodcraft in Allentown. Kills me that I lost my single #8 bit from when I did my Harpoon's mahogany seats last winter, and had to buy new, but, now I have a set.
Once you've got your holes in the fiberglass, go back with a regular countersink, and countersink the gelcoat. It reduces spider cracking and improves the sealant, donchaknow?
I used some #8x1.5" or 2" silicon bronze Frearson head wood screws, because that's what I had. Besides, I like silicon bronze better if they are sealed off from air, than say, SS. You'd want 316 stainless from McMaster Carr if you can get them, and they ship fast 'cos they're over in NJ. O'day originally used just flat head fully threaded SS Screws.
If you get tapered head screws, like wood screws (real ones, with the smooth shank) you might consider a tapered bit on your countersink bits, come to think of it. When I cinched down one of the screws, the combo of the smooth shank, the tapered head, and the downward bow of one of the risers, conspired to cause me to split my wood. DOH! (Fixed with epoxy and wood flour, I hope.) A tapered bit might have worked better relieving the stress as the smooth shank went into the wood. Anyway...
I used 3M 4000 because I had it around. I also figured that it was relatively stable with the screws. Although I didn't like doing it this way, I put a fair mound on top of the screw hole in the glass, and a bit around. I taped off the rest of the gelcoat outside the rails, hoping it would make less of a mess when the sealant squeezed out. It seems to have worked. I think I would have preferred 3M 4200 for greater adhesive properties, but I didn't have that. This may or may not cause me problems later, or the next owner. Sorry in advance, guy
I then set my bungs with Titebond 3. Titebond 2 is recommended, but I had 3 on hand, and it's rated waterproof, rather than 2, which says it's water resistant. This was recommended over neat epoxy, for ease of removal later. On my Harpoon seats, I glued them all together with epoxy, and set the bungs with epoxy, because they should never come apart. But these rails, yeah, they may have to come off again some day. I found that because the bungs were being set into the sloped side of the rail, the bungs would tend to split with the grain. Basically, the side radius of the bung would split off on the outboard side, where the rail taper is. I started them off vertical to get into the hole, and then tapped them down so they were straight. I also lined up the grain of the bungs to run fore/aft as best I could.
I did not have my very sharp chisel with me - DOH! but I was able to use my #4 block plane blade to cut off the bungs flush. It did a fine job.
Finally, I have sanded and coated with 3 coats of Cetol Marine Light. I simultaneously love and hate Cetol - it's less hassle than varnish, but I never knew what color to get. In the can, the Marine Light is orange. I wanted something closer to varnish amber, and it does go on translucent, so you see the grain. I had heard that the Natural Teak was very orange. But the guy at Interlux help line said the Natural Light would be closest to a varnish amber. Oh, well. I also have some Clear Gloss, but after 3 coats of the pigmented, the wood looks semi-gloss, more glossy than matte, really. I'm not sure if I want to hit them with the gloss, though, because this stuff goes on like translucent paint, and doesn't fill the grain the way varnish would. We'll see. The Admiral says the wood looks good, and the color is good, because teak often is a bit orangey, and the color seems to go well with the interior wood. (Only because I haven't torn out the interior wood and hit it with 8 coats of Le Tonkinois yet...) If you want to use some of the Cetol, let me know, I have more than enough left. Toe rails, hatch sliders, and hatchboard retainers don't require a lot...
I'm hoping to have the boat in the water at Nock in 2 weeks. If you want to check it out sooner, and are close to Hellertown, let me know.
Hope this helps!
Brian
