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 Post subject: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 01 May 2013 09:07 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
I am curious if you have replaced your teak coach-top grab rails with stainless..... Since my teak is getting rather thin, I am thinking of having some made and was wondering what it would look like and the proper spacing of the vertical posts. Did you keep the spacing the same, or did you skip everyother one?


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 02 May 2013 12:49 
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Skipper

Joined: 10 Nov 2006 22:56
Posts: 171
Location: Portland, Oregon
I just replaced mine, and kept the original spacing of the uprights. This makes the rails way more stout than others I've seen, which typically have a single upright in the center of the span. They also look great with the new Hood stainless hatches.

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Jay and Muki Kerr
Tartan 37 Betty Lou (formerly Rainbow)
Hull # 118, fin keel
St. Helens, OR
Betty Lou's Blog


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 03 May 2013 06:01 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
Thanks Jay, That's exactly what I was looking for! I am assuming that you contracted the fabrication locally where you live? How much should I budget??? Shocked


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 03 May 2013 12:38 
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Skipper

Joined: 10 Nov 2006 22:56
Posts: 171
Location: Portland, Oregon
$400.00 each for $1600 total. Seemed expensive, but the guy is the best in town with stainless, and the end product was fantastic. You can notice in the pictures that each upright has a round foot, which is a nice touch that makes the rail much more stable of the coach top, and makes it easier to hide the old holes. You will find it impossible to have the new rails fabricated so that the new studs line up with the old holes. My original teak rails had the bolts drilled through at various angles, making it impossible to reuse most of them. So I drilled them out and filled them with thickened epoxy, then drilled all new holes.

Also, you'll find that there is no easy way to gain access to the forward bolts, as the headliner ahead of the mast can't be removed without some major disassembly. The head and hanging lockers were built after the headliner was installed. I calculated the positions of the bolts, then drilled 1.5" holes through the headliner with a hole saw. I plugged the holes with metal hole plugs from the hardware store, painted white.

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Jay and Muki Kerr
Tartan 37 Betty Lou (formerly Rainbow)
Hull # 118, fin keel
St. Helens, OR
Betty Lou's Blog


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 10 May 2013 11:03 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
Well,
I went ahead and bit the bullet....ordered a set of handrails that should be ready to install in a few weeks......don't know the final price yet but the estimate was real reasonable...hope they stay close to it!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 10 May 2013 16:45 
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Skipper

Joined: 10 Nov 2006 22:56
Posts: 171
Location: Portland, Oregon
Cool... lets see the pictures after the install!!

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Jay and Muki Kerr
Tartan 37 Betty Lou (formerly Rainbow)
Hull # 118, fin keel
St. Helens, OR
Betty Lou's Blog


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 12 May 2013 20:13 
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Skipper

Joined: 29 Dec 2010 10:24
Posts: 192
Finally installed mine yesterday,the front and rear holes are as the originals, the rest are random ! One less thing to maintain.


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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 25 Jun 2013 06:37 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
OK, Here's the new rails!!! I am very pleased and glad that I went ahead with this project....the old teak rails had been sanded to the point where they were very thin and virtually fell apart when I removed them, so if I had needed them in an emergency "grab" they could've cost me dearly!!! The new ones are rock solid and I feel that I can lash the dinghy securely when needed.
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File comment: Holes filled, faired and painted

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File comment: Marking location of new holes

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File comment: End result!

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 25 Jun 2013 11:38 
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Skipper

Joined: 21 Jan 2010 12:57
Posts: 168
I sure like the pulpit forward of the spar. My intention is to add several such "sissy" bars: starting from aft, a boom gallows, port and starboard mast pulpits and something similar to what's shown in your photos with a bar extending forward toward the bows. Who fabricated what you've had done?


 
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 Post subject: Re: Stainless Grabrails
PostPosted: 26 Jun 2013 06:25 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
conch wrote:
Who fabricated what you've had done?



Both the grab rails and the dorade guards were fabricated locally by a firm called, "Marine Fabricators" in Topping Virginia. They used all 316 stainless and all the welds are smooth and polished nicely. Very happy customer. I want to fabricate more dorade guards for the aft dorades but I'll wait a bit.....I want to enjoy the boat for the rest of the summer Very Happy
The mast leaning posts that you're talking about may crowd that area a bit, I would be curious to see a picture before committing. Our Tartan's coach roof narrows down quite a bit in that area forward. They certainly would be a nice safety factor though.


 
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