INSIDE OVERHEAD HAND RAILS

L

Lawrence

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ARE INSIDE OVERHEAD GRAB RAILS A GOOD IDEA OR A HEAD BUTTOR

I CAN SEE THE ADVANTAGE IN ROUGH SEAS. BUT ARE THEY WORTH THE EXPENSE?

LARRY OF SQUIDWARD

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATIVE INFORMATION IT REALLY HELPS TO HAVE MANY BRAINYACKS WORKING FOR YOU :thdown :thup :smile
 
Don't have 'em, and don't think I need 'em. All depends on whether you plan to spend a lot of time cruising underway...... We don't - forward facing seat is sufficient for us

mac
 
If I am by myself in seas that are that bad, I have a deathgrip on the helm.

I installed a sissy bar in front of the port seat for Kate or her replacement.

Sit down and hang on is far better that stand up and hang, as far as I am concerned. If it's that bad, nobody shoudld be up and about.
 
We had them on our 22, Brooks Fabricating - would not want to have been out in rough water without them, they were great. Have not decided whether to put them in the 25 or not, would like them but the ceiling is so dang high, Patty would have a difficult time reaching them (she can barely climb up to the dinette seats as it is...)


Lawrence":sv0qmzhe said:
ARE INSIDE OVERHEAD GRAB RAILS A GOOD IDEA OR A HEAD BUTTOR

I CAN SEE THE ADVANTAGE IN ROUGH SEAS. BUT ARE THEY WORTH THE EXPENSE?

LARRY OF SQUIDWARD

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATIVE INFORMATION IT REALLY HELPS TO HAVE MANY BRAINYACKS WORKING FOR YOU :thdown :thup :smile
Click to expand...
 
I wouldn't be without them either....fully agree with the 3 points of contact. Don't know about you, but with two crew members on board most of the time now, they never same to stay in one location for any length of time and are always moving around...(good reason for trim tabs)...besides if my 'ol memory serves me right someone on the "site" fractured or sprained his ankle when he used the table for support in rough seas and it didn't "support" him.
 
Hey, I've got them inside rails, and the only thing I keep hitting my head on is the top of the doorjamb while exiting the cabin. :crook

No, all seriousness aside, I'm over 6'-1" and have no problem with the inside rails. I do recommend that you mount a shorter rail to starboard that is over the galley but NOT the helm -- I hit my head once on the roof and was real glad there wasn't a handrail directly above the helm.

Corwin
 
I'm surprised there is even any discussion. We had them on the sailboat, used them automatically, and we sure got them on the 25. Hanging on in rough seas is fine, but we even used them for being at anchor when some jerk comes through or theres a good swell. Judy had a handhold installed for the port seat, on the bulkhead. That also works great.

You can't have too many handholds on a boat (especially one going 20 knts.) I want one on the front of the cabin so I can hold on going from the side to the bow, when we're at anchor.

Boris
 
I used rope instead of stainless for my handholds. I was going to replace the finish washers holding down the outside guide rails with fender washers anyway and so I also replaced the bolts with stainless screw eyes. Then I ran 5/8 inch line through the eyes. Very taut on warm days, slightly looser on cooler days due to cabin expansion/contraction. I sometimes fish when it is pretty rough and need to get to the downriggers, etc. Also it works great to haul myself out of the dinette bunk in the pre-coffee morning (altho I usually sleep in v-berth). I think the factory interior stainless rails might look nicer. But this is very workable and has moved the interior rails way down the list of my priorities. Aside from the occasional joke about it looking like a theatre lobby -- no problemo. I think there is a bad picture or two in my album.
 
I use a 'walker' for stability inside. Raising my arms to grab something on the ceiling raises the boat's center of gravity and adds to roll. The walker is also useful when on the front deck raising the anchor and I used it for support once pull starting the engine when my battery was dead.
 
I personally feel they should be nearly a standard item. There are a lot of times when you do have more than one crewmember and they need something to hang on to, even in the smooth periods. Virtually all sailboats have them, I had them on all my sailboats, and they were in use almost constantly.
 
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