repair rub rail

[jackpepper]

How do you reattach the rubrail at the bow of my 22 cdory. about five of the rivits have pooped out.What is the best way to reattach the rail

 

[RodWestVT]

I had to reattach a decent section near the stern on my 25. I pulled out the rubber and used like 1.5" sst round head machine screws with fender washers and nylock nuts inside, and a healthy dose of 4200 sealant. Two person job, your interior access may vary, mine was a bear reaching in under the gunwale. Put "rubrail repair" in the Search above and you will get lots of experience to guide you!

 

[srbaum]

Most C-Dory’s, had rubrails installed using aluminum rivets. My recommendation is to remove the rubber insert, by removing the rubrail end caps, then warm the end of the insert with a hairdryer or heat gun, then work your way along a a reasonable pace, ensures you don’t get the rubber too hot, just warm. Place tape, vertical along the aluminum and hull, as a holding method and drill jut the rivets. Get a helper and carefully remove the aluminum rubrail. Clean the hull where rubrail was mounted, clean the aluminum rubrail, while removed and clean the rubber insert. Clean the old caulk from the interior of the boat. Purchase 316 SS machine screws with Allen heads, flat washers and Nylock nuts, 3M4200 slow cure, painters tape, denatured alcohol and plenty of paper towels. The initial installation of the aluminum rubrail will take two people. Place painters tape below and above the rubrail location. Tape small trash bags to the hull, below the work area in several locations. Place the aluminum rubrail in its mounting area. Tape the rubrail to the hull, to temporarily hold it in place. Now as fasteners are installed coat the hole of the hull and the fastener with 3M4200. Now install a few fasteners, without tightening them fully, to aid in alignment of the rubrail. Install all fasteners, then work your way along and snug the fasteners. Don’t over tighten, as you will push out all sealant. Clean the areas, of exposed 4200, with the towels and denatured alcohol, dropping the paper towels in the trash bags, as to prevent a mess. Remove the tape that was above and below the rubrail and again, clean away any residue 4200, as mentioned above. Lastly, place the rubber insert in warm water. Please keep in mind, that the rubber will stretch a bit during installation, so don’t prematurely cut away any tail sticking out of the rubrail. A hair dryer and Dawn dish soap can be used to aid the installation of the rubber insert. Give the rubber a week or so, to return to its normal size, then install the end caps, using the same procedure as other rub rail fasteners.

 

[jackpepper]

Thanks for the info. jack

 

[olekils]

I ended up replacing all of my rivets with these SS barrel nuts from McMaster. It leaves a very clean finish inside of the cabin without having to add blobs of sealant or dealing with protruding nuts or bolts. So far, the little sealing washers have kept the inside of the boat leak-free. It's a bit expensive and requires two people to install, but I think it was worth it. The nylon washer on the outside keeps the aluminum and stainless separated, the soft washer on the inside keeps the hole sealed. I used a little blue Loctite in each one since they aren't torqued super high.

 

[cmetzenberg]

i've never been able to get the old rivet bodies out. I've tried to drill them but they just spin around. I replace them with lag bolts. It works.

 

[olekils]

i've never been able to get the old rivet bodies out. I've tried to drill them but they just spin around. I replace them with lag bolts. It work

I had a similar issue when trying to drill out my rivets. One option is having a helper inside holding the rivet with pliers, another is to use a dremel with a conical bit sized to fit the rivet. The high speed of the demel is usually fast enough to prevent the rivet from matching it and a diamond cone has much less "bite" than a drill bit. Finally using a small punch to tap the body from the outside in can help also.

 

[cmetzenberg]

I had a similar issue when trying to drill out my rivets. One option is having a helper inside holding the rivet with pliers, another is to use a dremel with a conical bit sized to fit the rivet. The high speed of the demel is usually fast enough to prevent the rivet from matching it and a diamond cone has much less "bite" than a drill bit. Finally using a small punch to tap the body from the outside in can help also.

on my tomcat the rivet backs aren't accessible. I figure those lag bolts will hold forever, especially considering i butter them up with 5200. I don't know why builders insist on rivets that only last a bit over a decade.