rub rail

[Winniboater]

I am looking to replace my rub rail, not necessarily the soft rubber, but the hard plastic on my 1988 pirata. (W/454 big block). The guy that stores my boat for the winter somehow manages to bump it every year. Now it’s time to replace it. Any suggestions?

[ol88]

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com

This is where I bought mine from. They have very fast shipping and if you call them they will answer any questions you may have.

Hope it helps

[Salty87]

i got mine at www.iboats.com

www.tacomarine.com is the manufacturer. you might need to search their site for the right shape/size and then order thru a retailer.

the hard plastic you are talking about is the base rail? or insert?...if the base, you might look into switching to a flexible rail...the rigid style is ridiculou$ to ship.

[wotan2525]

Salty -- Do you remember what item# you ordered and how many feet of it? I'm also replacing my entire rubrail this summer....

I plan to do it after the wrap is applied. It would be nice to know what to order.

[Salty87]

you have to special order a 70' kit. i could only find 50' stocked anywhere.

item # is V11-9795 (there was some sort of confusion with that # when i ordered, keep V11-0418 around too...that's the original #, V11-9795 was a new kit or maybe in the longer length). that's a kit with the rail and insert.

you've got a rigid rail on there from the factory, see above about the cost of shipping. the flexible rail looks the same, alot easier to work with.

what kind of wrap are you getting?

[Winniboater]

I didn’t even think of James town distributers, I use them all the time for my wood working applications’ but I found it at tacomarine no problem. Thanks for your help.

[wotan2525]

you have to special order a 70' kit. i could only find 50' stocked anywhere.

item # is V11-9795 (there was some sort of confusion with that # when i ordered, keep V11-0418 around too...that's the original #, V11-9795 was a new kit or maybe in the longer length). that's a kit with the rail and insert.

you've got a rigid rail on there from the factory, see above about the cost of shipping. the flexible rail looks the same, alot easier to work with.

what kind of wrap are you getting?


Thanks! Not sure on the wrap yet... I've got a friend that does vinyl and we'll probably let him go crazy and turn it into an advertisement for him. Should be cheap and really update the look of my boat. I'll be sure to post up pics when they are ready.

Rob

[wotan2525]

Hey Salty -- Still planning on doing this but starting to get freaked out... was your old rubrail riveted to the hull? Is the new one riveted or screwed? Was there silicone sealant behind it?

Thanks

Rob

[Salty87]

yeah, i remember the rivets!! arghhh haha

it's not that bad but you'll need a rivet gun/rivets...drill out the old ones. the old caulking needs to go too, that's probably the hardest part.

i bought at mcmaster carr online, can't remember the size but i can check at home. rickr posted about the supplies he bought but it might have been on another site....boat design forums.net i think.

[wotan2525]

Shoot.... the new kits come with stainless screws so I think I assumed that's what would be used to secure it. Did you just let the old rivets be drilled out into the hull?

[Salty87]

my memory is going...i did the rub rail right after putting the cap back on. the cap uses rivets. i can't remember if there were rivets on the OEM rub rail. my kit came with screws too and i used them for the rail. don't tighten them too much or the rail will get dimpled. it helps to run a line with masking tape, easier to follow than eyeballing it as you go. you'll get hills and valley's eyeballing it.

if you have rivets, use the same size bit (1/4 going from memory for whatever that's worth). they'll just fall behind the inner hull wall.

i used 3m 4200 behind the rail and coated the screws before driving them.

[wotan2525]

my memory is going...i did the rub rail right after putting the cap back on. the cap uses rivets. i can't remember if there were rivets on the OEM rub rail. my kit came with screws too and i used them for the rail. don't tighten them too much or the rail will get dimpled. it helps to run a line with masking tape, easier to follow than eyeballing it as you go. you'll get hills and valley's eyeballing it.

if you have rivets, use the same size bit (1/4 going from memory for whatever that's worth). they'll just fall behind the inner hull wall.

i used 3m 4200 behind the rail and coated the screws before driving them.

Awesome... thanks! I got a hold of Jim @ Viper Customs and he's been super helpful. Even considering going with a stainless insert depending on what I can work out for shipping. Might be a nice looking upgrade!

[jasonba1]

I went with stainless through Jim at viper and it is amazing , In my opinion really gives the boat a new updated and cool look

[wotan2525]

I went with stainless through Jim at viper and it is amazing , In my opinion really gives the boat a new updated and cool look

He's working up pricing for me right now.... I'm probably going this route. Any installation tips/tricks you have? How tough was it? Any pictures? What did you use to cap the rail at the stern?

[Salty87]

i'm very curious to hear how the ss works out for you. there's a video on youtube....search taco marine

[wotan2525]

No going back now.... Pulled off the old rub rail... it was a 3 piece rubrail with a 1 piece flexible insert. Rail was attached with stainless screws about every 6" -- though you could tell they started on the starboard side and worked towards port because the frequency of the screws decreased the further along it went.

After that there was a lot of cleaning it up and trying my best to razor-blade out the silicone. Why isn't silicone applied directly to the seam between the caps? When I install a new rubrail should I silicone it before I put the rail on or afterwards?

[Salty87]

i did both behind the rail and once it was installed, the underside where it meets the hull. i used 4200, i don't like silicone.

you could fill the gap between the cap and hull bottom. i think it was just a cost-cutting measure to not do that. once the rail is installed and the bottom edge is filled, little water can get under it. i guess it could drop down from the top edge of the rail but you'd have bigger problems if your rail is that low in the water.

[jasonba1]

sorry really cant help on the install Viper did mine. If you have questions Jim can usually help you out his number is 865-388-4096

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Would like to see pics of a stainless steel rubrail if possible. :) I loaded boat onto trailer poorly one day and put a couple cracks in a small section of rub rail hard plastic insert. Doh...