Toe Rail Corrosion & bent bolts

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W

windcat

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Aug 3, 2009
35
Catalina 30 Everett, WA
We are removing and resealing the toe rail on our 1978 Catalina, hull # 959, due to leaking issues. My husband was not a happy camper and objected quite loudly about the difficulty in removing the bent bolts holding the toe rail down. Is it SOP to install bolts and then break them off to the correct length? So far we have only removed the port rail. There is quite a bit of pitting and corrosion abound the bolt holes on the underside. Is this a serious problem and can it remedied? Also, does anyone know how to change a login name? My husband always tells me to blow hard whenever the wind dies down. Setting my name to blowhard was a joke and it seems that I'm stuck with it. :redface:
 
jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I can't imagine even beginning to try to remove the rail on mine. By toe-rail you mean the T-track that's on top of the gun'l? I don't think this is a big source of water leaks.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,047
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Or it could be the aluminum that holds the rub rail in. Don't know. Given the cut off bolts, I'm guessing it's the rub rail "holder."

blowhard, get in touch with Phil, the moderator of this board and see if he can help you with your un.
 
jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Stu Jackson said:
Or it could be the aluminum that holds the rub rail in. Don't know. Given the cut off bolts, I'm guessing it's the rub rail "holder."

blowhard, get in touch with Phil, the moderator of this board and see if he can help you with your un.
Click to expand
On a C36, the "rub rail holder" bolts are the bolts that hold the deck to the hull. It's a shoe-box type joint, with the bolts horizontal.

The "toe rail," I suspect, is the 1.25" track that's on top of the gun'l that one can mount a spinnaker sheet lead, or a cleat on.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,047
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Guess we're both guessin'. :) I just haven't heard the phrase toe rail used on a Catalina (us older boats) 'cuz I always think of a toe rail as one of those extruded aluminum things (which are appearing on the newer Catalinas).
 
jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Stu Jackson said:
Guess we're both guessin'. :) I just haven't heard the phrase toe rail used on a Catalina (us older boats) 'cuz I always think of a toe rail as one of those extruded aluminum things (which are appearing on the newer Catalinas).
Click to expand
Agreed
 
W

windcat

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Aug 3, 2009
35
Catalina 30 Everett, WA
IMG_2604[1].jpg Not sure if I'm doing this right. I've tried to attach a picture of the port silde aluminum rail/track that we have removed and will be reseating. My question is about the corrosion on the underneath of the track. Is it a problem and how to deal with it.
 
F

foolproof

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Jul 7, 2009
218
Catalina 30 Mark I Stockton, Mo
I did this on my boat as well. It IS a source of water leaks with all of the holes that are drilled through it in the rail and the decks.

I recommend you reseal using Butyl tape around each of the holes through the deck, as well as under the head of each screw...you don't want to have to do this job again!

My screws were bent too...I think this happens when the nuts are installed on the bottom. There is not much room to turn the nuts, chich you HAVE to do when you seal the screws. DO NOT turn the screws into the nuts, or any sealant you use will fail, and you will have to do it all over again.

When you take the rail off, you will find it is not curved as much as when it was on the boat. The best way I found to reinstall it was to put one screw somewhere in the middle, then another on one end (doesn't matter which end). Then, it will take two people to bendthe rail back into place and put the screw in the end. After that is done, you will need to use a screwdriver or similar tool to "wiggle" the rail into place for each successive screw. Once that is done, start all of the nuts and tighten them down from the middle out.

It is a tough job given the lack of space in some of the areas, but much worth it. My boat was like a rain forest before, but is dry as a bone now!
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,047
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
blowhard said:
View attachment 67535 Not sure if I'm doing this right. I've tried to attach a picture of the port silde aluminum rail/track that we have removed and will be reseating. My question is about the corrosion on the underneath of the track. Is it a problem and how to deal with it.
Click to expand
The corrosion is because water got under there. Just sand it off and clean it up.

I agree, butyl tape is what you NEED, not just want, Do NOT use silicone.

Here's the source and How To on butyl

http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=117172

Good luck.
 
jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Corrosion

If you want stop the corrosion you'll have to do more than sand it off and reinstall.

Salt in contact with bare aluminum causes corrosion very quickly. Stainless steel screws in contact with aluminum cause corrosion even more quickly, due to the electrolytic reaction.

The first step is to passivate the bare aluminum. This can be done with any of several available conversion coating systems, such as Alodine (duPont). If you can't do that, at lease paint the bare aluminum surfaces with a paint htat will adhere to the aluminum.

To prevent electrolytic corrosion between the screws and track, they must be insulated. The best commercial compound for this that I know of is Tef-gel. It's expensive, but it works.

If you properly countersink the holes in the fiberglass gun'ls for a butyl tape seal, I don't think it's necessary to use butyl under the screw heads - use Tef-gel here.
 
Bob S

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,804
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
I think we're talking 2 different things here. The picture is your fairlead track. Is the corrosion you're talking about under the aluminum T-Track or in the fiberglass deck. Looking at your picture the deck looks good and just needs a good cleaning. Hopefully your core isn't to wet. Follow Stu's advice and fill each hole with epoxy and re-drill them. Bed them with Butyl rubber. I did this on mine when I upgraded to a Garhauer adjustable fairlead system. I took the T-rails to a metal finisher and had them re-anodized. If I had time I would have hard coated (type III anodize). You can buy new hardware from McMaster Carr rather than reuse what you have. If I remember I think they are 1/4-20 but make sure before buying.
Garhauer sell new T rail too:
http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=85
http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=37
 
D

Dadrider

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Sep 12, 2012
8
Catalina 30 Wickford
I removed and re-bedded my sail tracks this winter as well. Resolved the leaking I had, used 3M 4200. Interestingly, it seemed as if two different fellows installed our sail tracks. Starboard side guy installed it with bolts of unknown length and then went down the line cutting them all to length. Made it very difficult to replace the nuts once the track was down. All of the port side bolts were uncut and of varying lengths.
 
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