RUB RAIL

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PHILIP KELLY

i own a 1996 376 which was involved in a nasty accident last year. About 8/10 feet of the rub rail( the square shape, gray) needs to be replaced to avoid taking the whole rub rail off. According to Hunter they no longer use this type of rubrail but have gone to a curved type w/a stainless edge. They have none in stock and supposedly the mfg. no longer has the die?? Hard to believe but that's what I am told. They tried all their customers but no one has any around. If I can't find a piece I will need to replace the whole rub rail with the new style and that also involves grinding down the flange since the new rub rail is smaller. HELP!!!!!!! Is there any one out there that may know fo a yard that has repaired a Hunter and that may have some around. Does anyone know the OEM supplier for the rubrails to Hunter??? Any comments or suggestions appreciated. Thanks Phil Kelly/ Hunter 376/Orion-Douglaston, New York
 
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Don Alexander

Negative Progress??

Philip, Thanks for the info. Very bad form that Hunter is unable/unwilling to help. The new 'D' shape is not as good as the square moulding because you cannot use it as a step when boarding and so it becomes much more difficult to get on or off the boat. IHMO the deck flange is already dangerously narrow and the hull lacks strength at this critical point so I suggest you avoid making the flange narrower if at all possible. Then there is the possibility of starting a hull/deck leak. Also the stainless strip insert used on current boats makes them very unfriendly when coming alongside another boat should the fenders not be quite right. I too have a 1996 376 and will look here in the UK for some PVC channel. I will let you know if it can be located. After all I may need some one day. Could you please supply the external and internal dimensions as it seems likely that Hunter used a stock size. Regards, Don A. My ID is donalex@compuserve.com
 
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Paul Akers

Barbour Corp.

I believe that the original mfg of the rub rail was Barbour Corp in Brockton, MA. You can give them a call, but I hear that they will only produce a minimum of 500 feet. How big is your boat? Maybe you can find 24 other owners to share the expense :) Actually, about a month ago, someone on this site was looking for a "partner" to share some rub rail. Good Luck.
 
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PHILIP KELLY

Jolly Good

Thanks for your responce Don and I will forward dimensions this weekend. I need to go to the boat and retrieve the piece we cut out to do the repairs. I also can't believe that Hunter does not in some way support this part which I would think is the most likely to suffer damage, but you never can tell. Phil Kelly
 
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PHILIP KELLY

Barbour reply

Paul: Thanks for the info I will try them. Interesting Hunter called and told me they can now get the rub rail I need but I must buy a minimum of 110', ouch. Phil kelly
 
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PHILIP KELLY

Rub rail saga continued

I posted an email this morning ollking for help finding some rub rail material for my '96-376. It now seems they have replaced their stock and we can get 110' piece ony at a cost. But I want all to know that Hunter never avoided doing all they can do to help. Phil
 
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Don Alexander

Phil - Problem Solved

Hi Phil, I had a call from the world famous Eddie at Hunter today to advise that they had been most insistent their supplier located the PVC extrusion tooling which was claimed had been lost. As is normal with extruders they made the customer pay for this tooling which then belonged to Hunter. Long story short - Please contact Eddie at Hunter and arrange for the delivery of some square channel rub rail extrusion which he confidently expects to be in a position to supply a short length to you. Hunters will have to buy the minimum quantity though. Well done Hunter Marine. FYI I own a small company which buys several miles of uPVC extrusions each year so am familiar with all the extruders artful dodges.
 
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