deck hand rails

carl s · **Joined:** 31 Dec 2006 13:33 **Posts:** 90

So I removed all four rails today. Does anyone have the gouge for a reasonably priced teak replacement? I could make some but am swamped with sewing projects this winter. I see West Marine has some in the catalog but they dont list what the footprint dimension is and the foreigner on the other end of the phone doesnt know either. On another subject, I cant open the attatchments listed on this site. Are there some settings that have to activated? Thanks Carl

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 07 Jan 2008 20:07

I was wondering why noone ever viewed them full size.
Try it again. I think I found the culprit.

T37sailor · **Joined:** 24 Oct 2006 16:10 **Posts:** 61

I purchased a couple of teak winch pads from Thai Teak, http://www.thaiteakmarine.com/, for my Tartan 27. The guy is Pete and he was very easy to work with. His prices are great, the down side is the shipping. I think overall the price was close to state side or slightly lower. It's an option though. He will do custom orders too.

Regards,
Craig Connolly
Recollections
T37 #231

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

The teak I bought was about $13/ bd ft from a lumber supplier, nice looking boards. Of course they're rough sawn so I have to plane them to thickness etc, but I have a full woodshop so no biggy there. As I said earlier, I have the full length grabrails measuring about 9 feet so the board that I bought is almost two inches thick by 6 inches wide by 9 feet long which will net two rails when finished.

carl s · **Joined:** 31 Dec 2006 13:33 **Posts:** 90

I bought four teak rails online. They are the same brand that west marine sells but the price was alot less. I even got free shipping. Dimensions were very close or same as original and they look better than I could make. Only the first and last loop varied by .5 to l.o inch so they will work. I want to keep the original deck mounting holes so I plan on making a wood template from the original rail bolt holes. Then with the template, a vise to hold the new rail and a drill press, drill a 90deg pilot hole up from the bottom of the base of the new rail. I picked up a forester bit ( did I spell it right?) to make a teak plug hole from the top. I am not a skilled woodworker so if anyone wants to lend some experienced advice it would be appreciated. Is there a technique to keep the forester bit from chipping up the teak plug hole? Use tape? Is using the original holes a good idea? Its cold up here in Minnesota, I plan to do this next week, should warm to the 20s. Thanks yall, Carl Sutherland

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Carl, Teak will sometimes split out on you if you're not carefull, especially if you're drilling up from the bottom for your bolt hole. That's where a brad-tip drill bit would help, they have spurs that cut the grain better than a regular twist bit. Tape is a good idea as well, in addition. The trouble you're going to have with a forstner bit for your counterbore is the center point does not protrude much and will sometimes "walk" on you if you don't have a firm grip on things. A drill press will help, but you'll need to secure it good.
One trouble point: if you're drilling through your old rail to your new one and if the old one is at an angle, This will produce a hole that is not going to line up correctly (potentially).
Make sure you seal the balsa/plywood core when you remove the old rail. I like to drill an over-sized hole just deep enough to remove the wood but not too deep to penetrate the bottom layer of fiberglass. I then tape the hole from below with duct tape and fill the hole from above with an epoxy slurry. Let harden overnight and re-drill the bolt hole. This will keep moisture out of the core if the sealant ever leaks as its proned to do!!!! Make sure you use fender washers instead of the regular washers that Tartan used, it'll help spread out the force imparted on the fastners.
Good luck, Tom

carl s · **Joined:** 31 Dec 2006 13:33 **Posts:** 90

Thanks for the insight Tom. I will plan on filling the original holes, after I enlarge them, with epoxy. That way I can eliminate the exact hole alignment except for the two most forward ones that are on the v beth cieling. Should I have a perfect flat seat for the thru bolt or will a drill be ok with its angled tip? I plan on using phillips pan head style. Thanks Carl

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deck hand rails

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