Rub rail replacement

[abutkus03]

Rub rail replacement. Read and article and the author said he replaced the screws with SS threaded bolts. Is that possible without doing damage to the inner hull?

[Gary H]

As the Genoa block track is bolted through the toe rail and hull, it should not be a problem to do so with the entire rail. Access to tightening the nuts is going to be difficult, slow, and frustrating. As the original method of using self tapping screws seems to work adequately, I am not sure the extra effort is worthwhile.

[Steve Laume]

I would echo all of what Gary said. I have added long sail tracks to Raven and it was not easy getting at those bolts.

One other factor to consider is what would happen if you got severe damage to the rub rail. With the screws, it would shear off or pull out. With bolts, you would very likely have some serious hull damage. This seems to be a case where the original method works well and you would just be making things harder for yourself, Steve.

[abutkus03]

Thanks guys for your insight and advice. I'll fill the old holes with epoxy and move to new spots with somewhat smaller screws. I think one of the problems is the previous owners kept replace loose screws with yet bigger screws.