The Eyebrow

Jun 8, 2004
997
C&C Frigate 36 St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Just finished doing the brightwork on my H37C. Once again I never quite managed to stay ahead of it, but there is something satisfying about standing back and admiring it when its all done.

One of the most fiddly bits to varnish (or Cetol in my case) is the "eyebrow", as I have dubbed that piece of 1/2 round teak that runs along the top edge of the cabin side. It is really "only for looks" and serves no function other that aesthetics. It is fragile - a misplaced step will break it - it has lots of screws that could lead to leaks, and it is the one piece of wood (well two actually - P&S) on my boat that I detest maintaining. But the boat does not look right without it!

I know some of you have removed it, some have replaced it with a strip of tape or painted a line in its place...what is the answer? I am currently thinking of milling some teak into a slightly wider, thicker, more robust "eyebrow" and bonding it to the cabin with 4200 or some such goop (to eliminate the screw holes)...then maybe a few coats of a 2-part varnish...or maybe I will stick with Cetol...I dunno. Commiserate with me folks!
 
Jan 24, 2009
450
1981 Cherubini Hunter 27 Shipwright Harbor Marina, MD
Thanks for posting the photo Mary, that's a neat & clean solution. I've thought about replacing my rubrail with some kind of plastic teak, but I'd have to have someone mill it to get a similar shape.

I'm like Jim, it's the last thing I varnish, whenever I get around to it.
Dan
 
Jan 22, 2008
112
Hunter 36_1980 Bass River, NJ
eyebrow

Just removed Trinity's cabin top rails and eyebrow trims.
Refinished rails (sanded and varnished) reinstalled same.
Discarded eyebrow rims, yes they were worn out.
Made new mahogany trims in my shop, full 3/4" wide by light 5/8" thick
varnished and sanded, re-bed and screwed to cabin side. Going to boat today to set mahogany plugs, will trim and varnish same tomorrow if the weather is right. Trinity looks beautiful with new trims. Will send a picture next week.
I had to put the mahogany back on, I just like the look of wood.
Been using interlux schooner varnish on the exterior work and been satisfied. Just not a fan of the cetol look.

regards,

joe
s/v Trinity
 
Dec 5, 2011
30
Hunter 37c Scotland
Re: eyebrow

A previous owner removed the 'brow' and filled and painted the holes so I can't see its original position, I didn't know it had a strip until joining this forum. Did it go above the moulded groove, on the edge or above the port holes?
 
Jan 22, 2008
112
Hunter 36_1980 Bass River, NJ
trinity trimwork (800x450).jpg

Trinity Molding work, plugs not trimmed yet but set

regards
Joe
s/v trinity
 
Jun 5, 2010
1,107
Hunter 25 Burlington NJ
Pro-eyebrow molding

I replaced one recently on a Sandy-damaged Saber 32. The boat owner wanted to reuse the old piece of teak, which was down to 3/4" or 5/8" in some places from years of aggressive sanding; in some places it would not hide the plugs for the screws. I successfully lobbied for an all-new milled piece, even slightly oversized, which looked great.

Other guys in shop and various kibbitzers argued for installing it with silicone. After I made the case that the old one was leaking because it had been installed with silicone, we scraped off all residue and applied the new one with 4200, which was more correct. It looked great. The owner raved over it (something about Doubting Thomas comes to mind here).

I realize this is difficult to varnish and maintain but it does make the look of the boat. Nowadays it's only vestigal, but its original purpose was to allow water to drip off its edge rather than run down the cabinsides and possibly into the portlights. If you have any dramatic angle to your cabinsides, as most of our boats do, it's not really functional. (On a Cherubini 44, it is functional :dance:)

Angus asked about the positioning of the eyebrow molding. On the C44 we located it about 1/8" down from the corner of the cabintop; but on our more modern-looking boats we don't have as precise a corner to look at. The one rule is that it should not be too low. Lay a batten over the crown of the cabintop and extend it past where the molding will go. At the first place that the cabinside can be considered more vertical than horizontal (no more radius), call that the corner and locate the top edge of the molding about half its own thickness under that. Lower, it will look awful (cabintop looks too bulbous); higher (up on the angled cabintop), it will look more like a toerail. Some experimentation with positioning the teak and having people eyeball it from various angles may help. Also, painting the cabintop nonskid down to within half the toerail's width of the toerail will improve looks.

If the eyebrow is breaking off or getting loose, it's not fastened properly. As well as being functional for water it is also structural, as it's used for getting a foothold on the edge of the cabintop, such as when going up to reef mainsails. Proper bedding with 4200 (the better to remove and replace it some day) or 5200 will solve this.

Also, regardless of the scale of the boat, the eyebrow should not be too small. I see NO reason to have one less than about 7/8" wide (in plan) and 1" high (in elevation, cabinside angle notwithstanding). Choose a good piece of teak-- no wavy grain, no splits-- and run a router bitt with about a 3/8" radius along top and bottom. This will look a little clunky-- you could go to 1/2"-- but the tighter the radius, the more it will allow water to drip clear of the cabinside. On anything bigger than an eyebrow molding you can run a table-saw cut into the bottom, to provide a sharper edge from which water can drip. The problem with this is that the groove gets gunked up with wax, cleaning products, varnish, bug nests, mold, and then stops doing its job; so unless you have a paid teak-varnishing hand on staff, I wouldn't expend the effort and would just leave the radii of the eyebrow molding rather tight.
 
Sep 12, 2011
88
Hunter 27 Annapolis
Do NOT use 5200 !!!
4200 is ok. You will have to fill in the existing screw holes with epoxy to make it truly "screw hole free." Personally I would re-screw the eyebrows in and use some silicone sealant (with mild adhesive qualities) to make it water tight. That will last you 5-8 years at least.
If you use 4200 it will be much more difficult to remove.
 
Jan 22, 2008
112
Hunter 36_1980 Bass River, NJ
Hello Jim,

Yes my ports are nfm...installed about 3 years ago,been very satisfied.
Per some discussion, I epoxy filled and flushed out the original screw eyebrow holes and drilled new holes per a new layout so not having to aim for old holes. I re-bed with
interlux boatyard bedding compound I know its old school but felt comfortable using it.
Beveled a slight egde on molding facing weather and kept a square edge against cabin side for tight fit. The position of the molding was a slight 1/8" down from cabin
molded shape.
regards,
joe
s/v trinity
 
Jun 21, 2007
2,105
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
Jim:

Being on the Cherubini forum probably even longer than me, you are likely to remember some of my posts on this subject.

Every boat owner has their own preferences. Mine when I bought my 1980 Cherubini Hunter 36 was not to disturb the wonderfully classic Cherbuni lines. But I would modify (where easy) to a more modern appearance that would also minimize the chore of doing the brightwork every year or two. In my case, the smooth gel coat on the cabin top of my "new" boat had oxidized in places to reveal the FRP layup base. So a repaint was in order. (My choice was Interlux Perfection 2- part polyurethane.) The eyebrows needed to be removed in the process. Standing back, I realized that I liked the lines better without them. Less clutter and more open. Reinstalling them added nothing for me but more annual chores to maintain. I've attached a picture or two of the current appearance.

If your cabin top smooth gelcoat is still good, my suggestion would be remove the teak eyebrows. Scrape any remaining caulk away from the gelcoat. Use oxcylic acid to remove the years of tannin stains underneath. Do the "Maine Sail" compound thing to restore the smooth gelcoat to a clean luster. Wad up some white paper towels to shove into the screw holes to temporarily camouflage them. Stand back and look. If you like the look of no eyebrows, then using a syringe (to keep it neat), fill the holes with thickened epoxy, or thinned white epoxy putty. Fair flush with the gelcoat with a razor blade once the epoxy sets, but is still flexible. Hand sand/fair again after fully cured. Then just dab on some polyurethane white paint over the filled holes tinted to match the color of the gelcoat.

No one but you will ever notice that the eyebrow was ever there!
 

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FredV

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Oct 16, 2011
148
Hunter 37-cutter Philadelphia, PA
I'm sure this will disturb the traditionalists on this forum, but since I'm much more interested in a reliable cruising platform and maintenance reduction than I am in original look or resale value, I'm considering replacing Fred V's eyebrows with brown plastic trim available at any Home Depot or Lowes. I'll likely follow JC's guidance for size and location, use 4200 to attach it, and congratulate myself for eliminating one more tedious varnishing task!

Did I just say something sacrilegious?
 
Jun 5, 2010
1,107
Hunter 25 Burlington NJ
Rardi's eyebrow.

That looks perfectly fine without the eyebrow. Like Actel says, it's hard to tell there was every *supposed to be* one there.

It's really difficult to justify the installation and maintenance of a piece of teak when it's really the only piece of teak on the boat. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Those of us with much more topside wood will appreciate the look and feel of it and be more willing (and experienced, therefore able) to put in the muscle and time to keep it all cute & shiny, like.

I don't think the 'classic' lines of the boat are spoiled at all without the rail; but one should pay close attention to the molded feature lines, the nonskid pattern, and especially the size and shape of replacement portlights to keep the boat as attractive as it was meant to be.
 
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May 31, 2007
758
Hunter 37 cutter Blind River
Removed mine when I bought the boat. Painted on a black line of the same width. Never regretted it. In fact, I think it shows off the handrails on the coachroof better when they have had their due maintenance (about 12 coats of Epiphanes).