Rubbing edge return to normal

[east coaster]

The photo illustrates my problem. Had to remove the rubber part (rubbing edge to me) to repair underlying Fiberglass, now have to get it back in position without destroying it or distorting the grey rubber. No it was not cut, simply pulled out of its aluminum frame to allow full access to complete the repair. How to attach something to the rubber and get it back in the aluminum guide. Waiting for a warm day here in Nova Scotia to help with pliability and stretch. Yesterday was 70 F and today is 45F with rain showers. Your suggestions are appreciated, thank you.

 

[Jim Legere]

Heat gun?

 

[dlochner]

The only solution is heat and tension. Gently warm the rubber with a heat gun, being careful to avoid burning or scorching it. The rubber has contracted along its whole length back to the last anchor point and will need to be warmed back to that spot. With the boat in the water, it will be more difficult.

I did this once on a Tanzer 22 which has a sizable rubber rub rail. We did it on the hard with me warming the rub rail and the biggest guys in the marina pulling on it. I was afraid we were going to pull the boat off of its cradle.

 

[east coaster]

Thank you both. Fortunately the boat is secured starboard side to the dock which simplifies to some extent the operation.

 

[max_sailing]

I installed all ~60' of that same sized rub rail on my Catalina 25'. I started by soaking in a bucket of hot water, but that didn't work - it cooled too quickly. Heat gun was the trick. I never experienced any melting or burning, despite some liberal application of heat. I'd heat up about 2' at a time, snap it in, and then move on.

Good luck!

 

[Indysailor]

I did something similar a long time ago. Gentle heat worked, I just put it in a black garbage bag in the sun for an hour, but a heat gun should do it. One thing- the joint where old meets new will fill with gunk and crud.Consider screws to keep the joint in place and black caulk to seal. If done well it won't look too horrible, but compares well to constantly dealing with a mess at the joint.

 

[sailme88]

I replaced the entire rub rail a few years ago. Catalina Direct suggested a bucket of hot water to soak the rubber in. The bucket gig was a flop... Heat gun worked the best. The use of liquid soap was a bad idea.. Hand also got slippery , TOO SLIPPERY.. It was done on the hard using staging. Couldn't imagine trying to do this on the water as it takes a lot of pushing, thus reaction ...

 

[Richard19068]

How to attach something to the rubber and get it back in the aluminum guide.

That's really the question. I had a similar issue a while ago although not quite as long of a stretch as yours.

I assume the rubber rub rail is a bit convex and has a hollow area on the inside (against the boat). I might suggest trying to get the thickest piece of rope you can through that hole and tie a loop to it. Then you can apply the heat gun along the length of rub rail while someone pulls back the rope applying enough tension to stretch it out without distorting the hole.

My problem was a few times I got it stretched out enough but when the tension was taken off it contracted too fast for me to get the retaining screw in place. I needed someone to hold the rubber in place to keep that happening and eventually got it.

Good luck.

 

[east coaster]

Thank you all for your suggestions and experience in this matter. Tried the heat gun a few times and was not successful. Tried to rig a way to tension the material to stretch sufficiently to line up the rubber with the screw hole but by the time I unrigged the tension ometer the piece shrunk back. Yesterday after all the above frustrations I simply grasped the rubber in my hands and having a good footing on the dock, managed to stretch the rubber just past the screw hole. Surprised at this result I inserted the securing screw into the screw hole in the rubber and resumed pulling. I pulled until the screw past the hole and quickly grabbed the screwdriver and put the screw into the hole and tightened it as the rubber relaxed. It's done finally!! While pulling the rubber had come out of its track to about midship and with a plastic headed mallet I pounded it into submission. Hammer marks were removed with some acetone. What helped a lot was it was a hot day and the sun was on that side of the boat for a couple of hours, temps were about 24 Canadian and 75 American. I was also prepared to act quickly to screw it into place as I was alone and again surprised myself with the stretch of rubber I was able to get. Nothing fell overboard and I am not going to mess with the rubber again. My experience at solving this problem that I created by doing a small fiberglass repair at the terminal fitting for the rubbing strake.

 

[max_sailing]

“Nothing fell overboard and I am not going to mess with the rubber again.”

Sounds like a great success! That had to feel good.

Thanks for the follow-up. I really love when folks circle back to the threads with their outcomes, so helpful for future info seekers!

 

[Richard19068]

... temps were about 24 Canadian and 75 American.

Never heard it put that way. That's funny.

I feel compelled to apologize about my country's not stepping up to the metric system. I actually like Fahrenheit better than Celsius but inches feet and miles should have gone the way of the Dodo a long time ago.

Congrats on getting the rubber back in place.