Rub rail

Jimbot

New Member
I'm going to try to replace the rub rail on my 1986 14.2. I'm pretty sure thats the strip that runs around the entire rail of the boat. Has anyone ever done this before? Does it just glue on there? I'm trying to find out before I destroy my boat.

Here's a picture of what I'm up against. I realize I'll have to repair the fiberglass, but wanted to see if any one had ANY stories about changing out the rub rail.

I'm pretty sure I can just get that from Catalina as well, right? I thought I saw the part number in the hand book.
 
Forgot the picture.

And now for the picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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You can check with Catalina (818-884-7700) but I don't think they stock the old flat rubrails anymore. Plus the old ones are held on with some kind of miracle glue. Just live with it. Sorry.
 
Rubrail

Well, I called catalina and ordered some new rubrail. Turns out they had it, well we're all pretty sure it was it. It's 80 cents a foot. I know they used some glue that was reversed engineered from alien technology at area 51, but I'm going to try my best to get it off. I guess I can't make it look any worse. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
I want to know how this worked out for you, because I have a 1986 14.2, and I also want to replace the rub rail. My boat's rub rail is damaged on the bow and sides, and besides not looking good, this past week I cut my hand on one of the sharp edges. I found some semi-rigid vinyl rub rail that looks to be about the right size and shape, but it has to be screwed in place. Can I do that on this boat, or does the Catalina replacement with the alien glue work better?

Thanks,
Dave
 
I haven't put it on just yet. Getting it off was not so bad, I used a chisel and hammer to get the alien glue off. After that I came back with a dremel tool and got the rest off. Putting the new stuff on shouldn't be too hard. I bought it through catalina, and it was like 40 bucks, it just snaps on. Going around the corners, I'll use a heat gun to bend it. I'm hoping to use one piece, and have them meet in the middle of the transom.
 
Great! I will call Catalina tomorrow.

The glue on my boat's rub rail must all be dry-rotted, because the rub rail has been flaking off in big chunks on its own. Thanksfully, the rear corners of the transom have already been fitted with large corner rubber rub rails by a previous owner, so that is one less thing to worry about. The bow is the only part that will be difficult on my boat because it has had some fiberglass repair work done, also by a previous owner. The fiberglass was put on thick, so I don't know if anything can snap on there, since it doesn't have the original profile. Perhaps I can use my Dremel to clean it up a little and restore the profile.

Thanks for the info! :)
 
Well, I called Catalina and placed my order. One of the staff called me back to confirm my order. We got to talking about rub rails for the Capri 14.2, and while they had the original style replacement, he explained that I would also need to remove the old rub rail from the channel between the hull and the deck. This scared me a little, since the older style Capri does not have the bolt-through deck. The person I spoke with suggested I get the new style rub rail made of flexible vinyl. I agreed and they shipped the new rub rail out in no time flat!

Today I set to work removing the old rub rail. I used a dry wall knife, and the old rub rail came off as if I were slicing through butter. I washed the boat, at least where I needed to attach the new rail. After reading the rub rail instructions on DIY Marine, and the instructional video clips on Taco Marine’s website, I started installing the new rub rail.

I set the rub rail against the hull on the stern, starboard side of the boat, and drilled through the rub rail and the rail of the boat. After applying some marine sealant into the hole, I used two of the included rivets, two inches apart, to hold the rub rail in place. With the help of my wife, I then stretched the rub rail towards the bow. She made sure it was in place along the boat, and then she installed two rivets, two inches apart, just short of the bow. Now that the rub rail was secure, I injected marine sealant between the rub rail and the boat, ensuring to get plenty into each hole, and then installed rivets every six inches down the starboard side. When I was done, I then stretched the rub rail around the bow and down the port side of the boat while my wife secured the rail with rivets, with two near the stern and two near the bow, again two inches apart. Next, I injected the sealant the length of the rub rail and then installed rivets every six inches down the port side. Finally, I soaped up the insert and installed it into the rub rail.

Installing the new rub rail was slow going at first, but once I got into a rhythm, it started going much faster. Here are a couple of lessons I learned. Tape off your drill bit to stop at the correct depth, or be prepared to repair some gel coat. Make sure that you keep your drill bit level. If you aim low, you will drill too low on the boat’s rail, the rivet will be too low to grip well. If you drill too high, due to of the curvature of the hull under the rail, the washer won’t be able to fit onto the back of the rivet. If you mess up on a hole, fill the old hole with marine sealant, and then move an inch over and re-drill.

It looks very nice, and I hope that it will be more functional than the old rub rail, which started flaking off at the site of a dock. ;)



Old rub rail
Rub rail removed
Boat cleaned and readied for new rub rail
New rub rail installed
 
Dave - I need a favor from you. Please compile your messages about replacing the rubrail into one message and send it to me at [email protected]. I'd like to run it as an article in the Mainsheet magazine. Did you take any pix of the work in progress? Thanks!

Ed Jones
 
Dave,

How do you like your new style of rubrail? Does it offer more protection than the the old style. I need to do mine since it is falling apart.

Later,
 
The difference between the two rub rails is huge. In my opinion, the old style is only there for looks. When my boat still had the old rail, the boat clipped the dock on the upside of a wave, and a big chuck of the rub rail flaked off boat. Sure, I shouldn't had had my boat that close, but it was difficult to keep it off because the only available dock was facing windward. Anyway, with the exact same scenario, with the new rub rail at the same dock, ended up in zero damage to the boat or rub rail. I imagine that it could be damaged, but is seems to offer much more protection. I am very happy with the new style rub rail.

Dave
 
When sizing, just remember that on the older style boat, the transom doesn't have a good surface for the new style rub rail, perhaps unless you trim the new rub rail to fit and use stainless steel screws to attach it. (My boat has black corner rub rails and the original rub rail along the back.)
 
Dave,

I called Catalina today. I did not have the length I need, so I have to call back. I thought they would know. But anyway, the person told me that I need to order two parts: Grey part is 20651 and the white part is 20652. Does this sound right to you?

Thanks.
 
Yep, the new rub rail comes in two parts. I bought a few extra feet so that I could practice cutting, drilling, riveting, etc. I think I bought about 35 feet of both, but I will double check in the morning.

Dave
 
Hey Dave, Hope you see this. Did you have any pictures of the bow of your boat with the new rub rail on, and perhaps some wise words abour going around a tight corner? Was it hard? I'm putting the new style of rub rail on my boat when it arrives so I don't have to fix the fiberglass on the bow. I think it will cover up the cracking nicely.
 
I have several good pictures, and I will post them tonight.

I didn't have to do the back corners, because one of the pervious owner had put large, black, corner bumpers. I just had to run the new rail up flush to them.

I also didn't do the transom for two reasons. The first if that the old rub rail back there was fine. Second, there wasn't really a way of attaching the new rail, since it didn't have the lip. I suppose you could trim the excess off the new rail and screw it one. (You will see what I mean when you get the new rail.)

Working the rail around the bow wasn't too hard with a little help from the wife. I stretched the rail, and she drilled and riveted the holes. (Our roles were reversed for the rest of the job, but I wanted to make sure the rail was stretched tightly around the bow. She tried, but she couldn’t pull as tight as it needed to be.) We did one side first, pulled it around the bow, and did the other side. You can't rivet through the bow, but if you get close on either side. Once the rail is wrapped around, stretched, and secured, it won't go anywhere. My bow used to look...cruddy. It had been banged up and sloppily repaired. I clean up the repairs and made new/better repairs. After that, I added the new rub rail. Now it looks a heck of a lot better, and the rub rail protects the bow much better than the thin strip of (whatever that was) that used to be there.


Dave
 
New boat owner....

Jimbot said:
I'm going to try to replace the rub rail on my 1986 14.2. I'm pretty sure thats the strip that runs around the entire rail of the boat. Has anyone ever done this before? Does it just glue on there? I'm trying to find out before I destroy my boat.

Here's a picture of what I'm up against. I realize I'll have to repair the fiberglass, but wanted to see if any one had ANY stories about changing out the rub rail.

I'm pretty sure I can just get that from Catalina as well, right? I thought I saw the part number in the hand book.

I just purchased a very used 14.2 and when calling Calalina, I got no help except to call their tech support regarding finding a replacemtent. The railing is very bad, and I thought I would replace that first in my quest to polish the boat up. Have you had luck in replacing your rub rail and have you any tips?
Jim Sims
 
jim Sims said:
I just purchased a very used 14.2 and when calling Calalina, I got no help except to call their tech support regarding finding a replacemtent. The railing is very bad, and I thought I would replace that first in my quest to polish the boat up. Have you had luck in replacing your rub rail and have you any tips?
Jim Sims

If you didn't see it, on the first page of this thread I have details about how it is done.

Dave
 
Rub rail experts still around?

Last summer after carefuly reading all "rub rail" threads, and after purchasing an old style tan rub rail from Catalina, I tried to replace it on my 1987 Capri 14. Half of it came off by easily, while the remaining portion is still firmly attached inside the lip. I tried chissels, all types of dremell bits, heat gun...with no success. Does any one have an idea to remove the "welded" portion?

I also considered filling the the gap were it came off easily with epoxy and fiberglass, but I cannot find a suitable rubrail that can be mounted on the outside. West marine have a two piece black and white rigid PVC but at $185 I find it a little pricey and I would prefer a softer material and color choice. Does anyone know of a better alternative?

The water is still too cold up here in Canada, so I still have a couple weeks left to fix this!

J-F
 
How did the replacement go?

29+starboard+damage.jpg
I'm wondering how your rub rail replacement went.

My '80 Capri 14 Omega has two, possibly three places where I need to replace the rub rail. Initially I thought it could wait because it was just cosmetic. That idea changed after sailing yesterday. As we caught some nice gusts and I was hiking over the starboard side I saw the place where the rub rail was missing and noticed that the deck was further separating from the hull ... YIKES!

Not only did that tell me that the patch I did in there with foam and caulk was compromised, but reminded me that were I to capsize (again) to that side I would indeed take on water into the hull. That isn't an experience I desire to repeat.

So... questions...

there are places where the deck no longer has the lip on it to attach the rub rail to... how would I do the replacement there?

I'm thinking I should replace the rail all the way around the boat, especially since there is no rail for about 6 inches across the bow. Agree?

What part/parts do I order? (I'm guessing a call to Catalina is in order.)
29+starboard+damage.jpg

I'm hoping this inserts the photo of the rub rail damage.

Thanks!

Marti
 
Does anyone have the copy of mainsheet that(or if it) was written about the rubrail replacement? I need to replace mine and I want to glue on whatever rubrail I decide to buy.
 
How did the replacement go?

29+starboard+damage.jpg
I'm wondering how your rub rail replacement went.

My '80 Capri 14 Omega has two, possibly three places where I need to replace the rub rail. Initially I thought it could wait because it was just cosmetic. That idea changed after sailing yesterday. As we caught some nice gusts and I was hiking over the starboard side I saw the place where the rub rail was missing and noticed that the deck was further separating from the hull ... YIKES!

Not only did that tell me that the patch I did in there with foam and caulk was compromised, but reminded me that were I to capsize (again) to that side I would indeed take on water into the hull. That isn't an experience I desire to repeat.

So... questions...

there are places where the deck no longer has the lip on it to attach the rub rail to... how would I do the replacement there?

I'm thinking I should replace the rail all the way around the boat, especially since there is no rail for about 6 inches across the bow. Agree?

What part/parts do I order? (I'm guessing a call to Catalina is in order.)
29+starboard+damage.jpg

I'm hoping this inserts the photo of the rub rail damage.

Thanks!

Marti
Marti, I remember seeing several types of rubber rub rail material in the Defender catalog. You can pull it up on line i believe. I tried to open the ohotos, but no luck. I have quite a lot of caulk under the rub rail, and dont know why. I plan to clean it up this winter and renew the sealent. By the way, i found that clear P.V.C. cleaner will clean up a mouldy looking grey rub rail pretty good. You MUST use good rubber gloves if possible. Charley, Near Memphis
 

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