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Rub Rail Damage - What repair is needed?


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So, we started our vacation at Tablerock and I hastily tied up the boat to go finish unloading the truck. I put bumpers out, but not enough. The boat got rocked in the slip and best I can tell, it rocked enough to end up "under" the fixed bumper on the dock. When the boat wanted to pop back up, it looks like the rub rail was still under the fixed bumper and it ripped part of the rail off. It pulled probably 4' or so of the rail off.

We headed to Home Depot and got some marine epoxy and pop rivet gun and got it patched up enough to get through our week at the lake, but I'm not sure I'd call our repair permanent. Here is a picture before our quick repair. My concern is the gap between the top and bottom deck grows right at the back of the boat. Since it was hidden under the rail before, I'm not sure if the gap was that big before, but it is much tighter towars the front of the boat. We did the repair basically in the dark, so I doubt we got enough marine epoxy in it to say we have a permanent fix. The rub rail track snapped at the corner of the transom and the rub rail insert was stretech enough that we had to cut out some excess just to stuff what was left back in the insert to get us through the rest of vacation.

So, how worried should I be over the gap between the decks? I'm not sure how they ever could seal water tight before. Also, where should I get a new rub rail and do they usually come with the track and the insert? Any ideas on total costs to fix all this? I'd love to tackle it myself, but my HOA is a pain and I struggle to keep the boat in the drive long enough to dry it out and clean it, let alone actually take on projects.

IMG_1821_zpsg9jwgoxa.jpg

Edited by hethj7
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By the looks of the crud under the rail, the gap was already there from where they trimmed the cap after molding it. Look on the inside of the boat and you should see that the cap is permanently glassed to the hull, so it really can't lift up.

If you got the pop rivets to stay in, you probably have it fixed.

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Man, there's that much gap between the top deck and the hull on those boats? No wonder my rear locker is always wet after surfing. I always thought it was all from being sloppy with the bag and pumps.

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The new rivets held, except in a couple places where the old ones broke off in the hole. I don't have a drill here, but if it is all holding, I can just drill them out and put new ones in. I'll check in the locker to make sure everything is glassed in at the joint - you are right in that it sure looks like a lot of stuff was in the joint and it probably didn't separate any more than it already was from this incident.

Where should I pick up the new rubrail? I see most have used Taco Marine here. And, should I just pick up the insert or does it usually come with the "track" as well? The "track" as you can see in the photo, snapped in two, but it snapped cleanly. It basically lines back up with itself and I'm tempted to just leave it due to how much of a headache it would be to drill out all rivets and try to replace that entire thing vs. just putting the new rubrail insert in.

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