Rub rail molding for CD 31 needed.

[jen1722terry]

Hello fellow owners!

We had some bad luck bringing our new (to us) 1984 CD 31 up to New Hampshire from Maryland. While at a mooring waiting out a storm, a nearby yacht parted its mooring and parted its throttle cable simultaneously.

The 20-ton, steel, 46-footer drifted into our boat. We were able to avoid a serious collision with boathooks and fenders, but her steel rub rail did come down on our rubrail and shattered it for about 6 feet on the starboard bow. No damage to the toe rail or bronze half round cap, just the teak rub rail.

Does anyone know of a source for this teak molding pre-cut and curved?

Also, is this a project we can do ourselves? We're experienced builders of some small kayaks and canoes, but lack shop tools to make long moldings. Also, has anyone done the kind or rub rail replacement? If so, any tips to ease the project?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Jenn and Terry McAdams
CD 31 #33 "Glissade"
Kearsarge, New Hampshire
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
jen1722terry@gmail.com

[sharkbait]

You can remove the damaged molding and any decent woodworking shop can replicate the profile.

Remove the bungs by just screwing a screw into them and they should just pop out.

You can remove any damaged screw heads with a end mill, stainless steel sleeve and a cord less drill and not damage any good wood. Just put the sleeve in the bung hole; insert the end mill through the sleeve and grid off the top of the damaged screw. Then you will be able to remove the good wood. After removing the good wood you will have ample screw shank to grab a good hold with a pair of vise grips.

[Bill Goldsmith]

I don't think you will find this as a stock item pre-cut and curved. As sharkbait says, any good woodworking shop should be able to replicate it.

You also asked if you could do this yourself. I think the answer is yes, depending on your level of woodworking skill (or willingness to dive into it). You don't really need much fancy tooling.

I repaired a much shorter (18 inch) length of rub rail on Loonsong using only a table saw, belt sander and hand tools. Here is how I did it.

Fabrication: I hand-sawed out the damaged rub rail making a plain scarf at the fore and aft end of the repair. I chose the scarf angle to overlap enough so I could run a screw though the old and new parts of the scarf to avoid it pulling out. I marked the angle and cut it very slowly with an inexpensive Japanese pull-saw.



It created two very nice, straight plain scarfs. I used a fragment of good rail at the end of the cutout to match on the table saw the long profile cuts for the new wood. I transferred the scarf angles from the on-boat scarf ends to the replacement piece, using a bevel angle tool, making sure to cut it a little long for later fitting.



In fitting it to the boat, I mounted a belt sander to a sawhorse and sanded off small amounts until it fit perfectly. I used a small piece of 320 grit sandpaper to round over rough edges, smooth everything out, and make sure the transition from old to new to old would look good. Finally, I used the table saw to rout a 1/16" dado in the back of the rail to allow for adhesive sealant.

Mounting: I epoxied the old screw holes in the hull shut so I would not be tied to their location. I dry-fit the replacement piece and chose the location of my new screwholes. On the scarfs, you have to make the holes where there is sufficient meat to allow recessing and bunging the new screws, without it pulling through. I also located one screw in the middle of the replacement piece. After deciding on the new hole locations, I drilled the new pilot holes in the rub rail and hull. I coated the inside of the replacement piece with brown sealant and screwed it in place, wiping off the excess with acetone. Finally, I installed bungs to hide the screws, and sanded them smooth.

The one thing I did not have to do (and have not done with teak) is bend the wood. My piece was so short, I was able to hand sand in a little relief to match the hull contour. In your case, you could make a temporary steam box out of PVC pipe, fittings, an old kettle and a camp stove, and steam a long piece of teak.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8691101_bend-teak.html

Bending teak is tricky, some people say you can't steam bend teak, others say you have to soak it first. There are lots of suggestions out there on the web.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.ph ... nding-Teak

And you have to be careful to cut your piece so the bend is along the edge grain, not the face grain, which is likely to split.

[Oswego John]

Nice writeup, Bill. Very comprehensive.

O J

[Jim Cornwell]

Please expand on "you have to be careful to cut your piece so the bend is along the edge grain, not the face grain, which is likely to split." What is meant by "along the edge grain?" I presume this means bending across the annular rings (like a pack of cards). Right? I need to order some teak to replace eyebrows and I want to get it right! Jim.

[jen1722terry]

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for the kind and expert advice.

As the section is rather long, and we don't have space in our small New Hampshire condo to build a steambox, I may take Robin Hood Marine's offer to have them make and bend (or cut the curve out of a wider plank) the rail section for me. Removing the old rail and install the new, pre-curved rail should be very straight forward. I'll keep you all posted as we get to the project later in the winter.

Thanks again, and we're now officially members of the CDSOA, and proud to be so.

Jenn and Terry McAdams
Kearsarge, New Hampshire
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
jen1722terry@gmail.com

[Bill Goldsmith]

Please expand on "you have to be careful to cut your piece so the bend is along the edge grain, not the face grain, which is likely to split." What is meant by "along the edge grain?" I presume this means bending across the annular rings (like a pack of cards). Right? I need to order some teak to replace eyebrows and I want to get it right! Jim.

As mentioned, I am certainly no expert on this, but there are some helpful resources. For instance, this website has some comments on bending along the grain, and not the sawn face of the wood. http://paleotechnics.wordpress.com/2013 ... d-to-know/

[Jim Cornwell]

Thanks for the link, which is full of It "paleo-wisdom" about wood - ancient knowledge largely forgotten by most of us but just as true today as ever. Reminds me of the wonderful "Fox Fire" series compiled some years back that saves appalachian folk crafts from oblivion. Good stuff! This piece suggests that bending is least likely to result in cracking in a plane parallel to the growth rings, which is not what I expected to hear. It's just the opposite of bending a pack of cards. Hmmm. Experiments are in order on this.... Jim.

[Phil Shedd]

J+ T

You might try Robinhood Marine in Maine for some rub rail. I had a area damaged a couple years ago. I was able to get a piece of rub rail from them . I was cut with the right angle but I had to wet it with hot water to get it to bent to the area I was working on.

Phil