Replacing the rub rail?

[CaptWilly]

I just bought a DS that I'm restoring and there has been a rub rail on the hull-deck joint but it's been torn off or removed (leaving about 100 holes). What's the best way to repair it? While I could fill all the holes, I'd rather get a new rub rail. Where can I find the parts?
CaptWilly in MN

[GreenLake]

You will be able to get a rub rail from D&R Marine. If unsure of how or what to order, give them a call.

[CaptWilly]

[img]Thanks, I had been on D & R website before I wrote but I find it extremely difficult to pay $300-400 for a rub rail. If I were restoring a boat to museum quality, of course, but for just plain sailing, I just want it to basically look good. Seems like there should be some inexpensive and soft plastic molding of some sort that has been used for this. Incidentally, it would be hard to find a worse website than D & R (I appreciate the referral from here, don't get me wrong, it's just been a long time since I've seen one that is such a turn off!

What does everyone think about just patching all the holes from previous rub rails and sailing with a plain and open deck/hull joint?

I do think I will start looking around at stores like Home Depot or Menards for such a flexible rubber strip.

I tried to upload a picture but this website won't accept it (it's too big)

Thanks again!
Capt Willy in MN

[GreenLake]

Not all small businesses are e-commerce savvy. Rudy answers the phone and is a great resource to the DS community.

If I had a rubrail that is damaged (sections missing, for example) I would look hard at a replacement - and from the abuse that mine takes, I would definitely look at a like-for-like replacement. Yours is the extreme case of this, missing altogether; so you have no choice but to replace it with something. In your case, I would tend to view the replacement not as restoring the original appearance, so much as restoring the original function. Mine is definitely not just "decoration" and I'd never want to replace it by anything that isn't at least as durable.

However, as it turns out, mine is mainly discolored. So every once in a while I go an scrub it really hard with a mildly abrasive pad. Doesn't make it look like new, but takes away some of the oxidized outer layer and discolorations that are embedded. Will look good for a while, but there's a lot of gunk it will pick up from contact with the dock at the launch, so the effect isn't permanent.

For photos: this forum is a bit older tech so it doesn't convert things for you on upload like the social media platforms are doing. However, you can run photos through an editor or a photo compression app, or you can see whether when you send one by mail, you are given a reduction in size/compression option. (For example, if you "send to mail" from the Windows File explorer you are being given some choices; pick any other than "original" and mail it to yourself before posting here).

Look into the "How to use this forum" section for more suggestions. (If anyone has good suggestions for other platforms, including phones, I would love to hear them).

[jalmeida51]

Try Hamilton Marine up in Maine. They support a lot of boat builders up in Maine. They used to carry a large assortment of rub rails. If you have your old rub rail You can clean it using lacquer thinner. It really gets the embedded dirt and grime out of the rub rail. It will almost look new. John

[CaptWilly]

Maybe it's me but I work with a computer and websites for several hours every day. I have also created a site for my business, and even though it's time consuming, I think my site is easy to use. I'm just saying.

I was able to finally find it on the Hamilton site, but, once again, it wasn't easy to find. For instance neither "rail" or "rub rail" or even "deck-hull joint" will get you there. You have to type "rubrail" as one word. I can get over that, but really, the normal price for one was $965. Really? Sure it's on sale for $186 but I wasn't able to figure out if it would fit a DS. I'll try to crack the code to see if there's a way to select one proper for a DS.

I'm going to keep looking..... Thanks for the replies though!

[GreenLake]

Site internal search functions tend to be abysmal. Same is true for this forum. (I suspect they are really limited to fairly direct database queries internally, not looking up things in a proper search index). Usually, it's possible to ask your favorite search engine to return hits only for that site - then you can benefit of their more flexible algorithms.

[jalmeida51]

I have found the easiest way to find parts on Hamilton Marine site is go to homepage, click on shop categories, click on docking, click on rub rails. It lists about 190 rub rails and parts for rub rails. Give them a call. They know boats and maybe they can help you figure out the correct rub rail. I believe it is the same rub rail that is used on the Rhodes19 which is built in Rockland Maine. Not sure of this but it might help them figure out the correct one.

[CaptWilly]

When I googled rubrail for the DS I was actually routed back to this forum! In particular some posts clear back to 2000-2001! There were some pretty neat comments, one of which was a guy who used a white garden hose for his rubrail! Said it cost him $30. My kind of guy. They were also discussing a rubrail from Hamilton that cost $100 at the time. I wish I could get one of those. There's no way I'm paying $10/foot (hard plastic under-rail plus PCV covering over that) for an old $300 boat. (if your new rubrail costs more than the entire boat is worth, that's just wrong).

Regarding web site construction, there were two people here who just now referred me to "How to use this website". Jeez, I'm a Mac guy, I like things that don't require a manual to use! This is probably one of the most complex and arcane websites that I try to use. I just discovered, for example that I have a DS1,and there's a whole world for them on this forum.

Now I'm on the search for a suite of sails for my DS1. Turns out my wife thought my sails were some old bedding linens and she threw them away or into recycling! They are gone! Looks like the Intensity Sails are the way to go. If you are reading this and have some pre-owned sails for sale, please let me know! I could use a used mast as well. Mine has been broken and then "repaired"!

Thanks GreenLake for all you do! I get it! Also, thanks to jaimeida51 for the tips!

[GreenLake]

@CaptWilly Thanks for putting up with us here. We like to argue a bit. Although a few here are in the business of "restoring boats to perfection", most of us are not. We tend to focus on function first and on appearance second; to various degree.

What you have on your hands sounds like a project boat, priced as low as it was because of things like the missing rubrail. If you ever figure out a clever and cheap solution, we'd love to see pictures of it. As you write that you've built websites, you probably have a tool like PhotoShop (or some equivalent) that allows you to save pictures scaled to any dimensions and degree of jpeg compression. (I've been using a very reasonably priced clone "Affinity Photo" for a while, which has a complete feature set and is easy to use for anyone familiar with Photoshop, and also available on the Mac). {end thread drift}.

If a mast repair is done well, I wouldn't see the need to replace the mast - that's surely going to cost you more than a rubrail. (If you want to discuss it, I'd suggest a new thread in "Rigging").

[CaptWilly]

Update: Looks like my creaky old 1973 DS will be getting a pretty new dress. New sails from Intensity. I've given up trying to find where the misplaced original set has gone. I found another nice used (but old) set here in town (Tim at Sailcrafters, Inc.) but it has a big ugly orange stripe on the main and he wants $500! Intensity is $450 for the pair new.

I'm off to Home Depot right now to see if I can find some kitchen or plumbing moulding that will work for my rub rail. I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I figure if I use 4200 or Liquid Nails, I can clamp it on until it dries, then I won't need screws or rivets. As I mentioned I have about a hundred old and battered screw holes that are left open. They will either need to be filled with fiberglass repair, or covered with some ornamental covering. Perhaps both. I'm a bit worried about hull-deck separation without screws but when I look at those flimsy brackets that hold the side stays, I don't think I need to worry too much about high levels of stress and strain elsewhere. It's not like I'm racing this vintage boat!

Hopefully in the water this weekend! The ice out just happened here in Minnesota.

[GreenLake]

If you ever see hull-deck separation and it's in a place you can get to, simply lay a strip or two of fiberglass across from the inside. That's a reinforcement technique people have (seen) used on many of these boats. (If so, place the glass on a sheet of plastic and wet out on your bench, then transfer, using the plastic like a backing tape).