RE: [Cal_Boats] Some Rub Rail Lore

Mark - Not sue about how to rebuild that lip, but once you do I would also swear by that rub-rail from D&R. It was a lot less $$ and I like how it looks. I have one STRONG suggestion though for anyone who puts a D&R rub rail on -> Heat Gun. My fingers were still cramping after putting one on my 30' boat, but I cannot have imagined putting it on without one, especially on a cold day like I did.. Just heat it up enough to be able to spread it open. The Seal's rub rail is by far closer to the original but can have the chalking problem too. I spoke to Steve Seals (about a year ago?) and he told me that he had gone to a new mix on the rubber & it should not run, crack & chalk like the old one. He had had it out there for about a year and the new mix was holding up pretty well so far. Later - Dyer Honu, 1969 Cal 2-30, SF Bay. From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mark Cosens Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2012 6:18 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Some Rub Rail Lore [1 Attachment] [Attachment(s) from Mark Cosens included below] Thanks Guys for such great advice. I've attached a photo of the side of my boat. As you can see, not only is the rubrail gone but so is the lip that holds it. I had tied up the boat the night before at a different spot than normal to have her pulled the next day. During the night the winds changed and brought a storm surge up into the part of the harbour she was tied up in. By the time I arrived on scene the boat had been slammed against a big black tractor tire so hard that my outboard had been knocked off her mounts and I could not motor her out of harms way. I watched as the waves violently removed the rubrail off most of the starboard side and about 10 feet of the hull/deck joint has been leveled. I can now separate the joint from the inside and put my fingers through the joint. My plan was to rebuild the rail lip from the inside out by feathering back the hull and deck fiberglass, layer the glass and pull the excess out the side both top and bottom. Let dry and trim to suit the new rub rail. Then I would have to reglass the seam on the inside. Does this make sense? Bad luck and sailing seem to go hand-in-hand so perhaps I'm not the only one to have had this happen to them and one of you guys might have a better idea from experience. Thanks in advance. Mark From: Husar, Charlie [USA] (ASE)<mailto:hu… [at] bah.com> To: CAL Yahoo (Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com)<mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com)> Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 9:55 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Some Rub Rail Lore Periodically, I'd buy a bunch of rub rails from D&R (East Coast connection) to get a discount, and then distribute them to our local CAL 25 fleet. Here are some instructions and notes I would send with the rail. I guess I should now have them in multiple languages. No UL listing implied. Cheers Charlie Annapolis CAL 25 Rub Rail Installation The rub rails have not really changed through the models of CAL 25s. One size fits all for the flat deck CAL 25 model (and fits some other CAL models as well). A 55 foot long section is suitable for the 25. It helps to have a few extra feet to grab and stretch. The rub rail is folded over the deck-hull joint where the deck and hull of the boat are joined. The rub rail has a cross section (two internal lips - top and bottom) that allows it to be plugged onto the lip of the joint. Removal If there are no screws going vertically through the rail, simply unscrew the 2 brass caps near the stern at the ends of the rub rail (nuts are inside the hull), and peel the old one off going around the boat. If there are vertical screws going into the rail, just unscrew them first, and the whole rail should peel off (there shouldn't be any type of glue - we hope). Then proceed as below. Installation The new rub rail fits over the deck hull joint which forms a lip around the boat. Unscrew the two brass caps at the aft end of the old rail (nuts are internal to hull). Embed one end of the new rail inside the cap and use an awl to put holes in the rail through the brass cap bolt holes to reinsert the screws. Bolt the one side back into the boat. Fold the rail over the lip of the joint as you move forward, stretching the rail (a lot) as you progress. Basically, you insert the top lip of the rail or the bottom lip of the rail, and then roll up or down to get the other lip to catch. (A rubber mallet sometimes helps.) Really does take two people. At the other end, mark and cut the rail while it is stretched. Use the back of the other brass cap (where it would be if still installed) as a marking reference. Then with rub rail tension relieved, feed it into the end cap with screws as you did the first one. Then restretch to get the cap to the holes in the hull. Also a good idea to put screws up from the bottom of the rail through the hull joint lip (number 10 self tapping ~1.5 inch pan head or oval head with washers like the decorative ones) into predrilled vertical tapping size holes. Holes should not go to the top of the rail. Put these about every two feet starting at the bow back about 10 feet on each side. This keeps the rail from getting knocked off in heavy seas (bow slamming kinds of weather). Some Notes Here's the rub (sorry for pun). The rail is best installed warm (if not hot) since it is more resilient and supple that way (stretches better). Could be a problem in the winter depending on where you live. I've heard heating methods all the way from hot water buckets (even an oil drum full of water over a propane fire), to hair dryers, to letting the rail sit on a hot summer parking lot for a while. One other is to put the rail in a dark trash bag sitting out in the sun. If you see gaps in the joint between deck and hull while the rub rail is off, caulk the joint and smooth before installing rail. Don't need to glue the rail on. The joint must be well very cleaned before caulking. Scrub it out then wipe or brush with acetone. By the way, if you have pop rivets through the joint, they are NOT structural. They were used to hold the top and bottom of the boat together and stable while the internal glas was laid across the deck hull joint. I have seen a CAL or two where someone had filed down the lip in the deck/hull joint. Looks prettier with no rub rail, but sure screws up the install. On one boat, we had to go with the screws all the way around at 18 inch intervals.