wooden toerail question

[Steve480]

Tim or others,
I noticed that the deck toerail is about flush with the hull at midpoint on the Triton, but an angle between the two surfaces forms and increases toward both ends of the boat. I think you covered both surfaces with an outer board which was aligned with deck toerail surface but I am not sure. Did you run the bottom of the board at the seam, or cap the bottom of the board at both ends, or something else? I would appreciate a little help as to how you did it.
Thanks very much.

[Tim]

The outer board that makes up my toerail lies against the top part of the hull, and more or less follows this line. So as the flare of the bow increases, the outer board angles slightly outward, making the toerail a bit wider at the bow than at the stern. This is OK since many traditional wooden (or other material) toerails tend to widen towards the bow for aesthetic and functional reasons.

The hull remains fairly vertical between about the chainplates and the transom, so only the bow section contains any of this flare. The outer board is screwed directly to the hull, much the same way that the original metal rubrail might have been.

[jhenson]

Tim,

A couple of questions about the process:

1: How far below the hull/deck joint do these pieces extend? Did you fill the gaps between the hull/deck joint before application of the rail sections, or is the cualk enough to protect the joint from water intrusion?

2. If the rail sections conformed to the deck mold at the bow (as apposed to the hull angle), do you think they would look contrived or bulky in your opinion? Alternatively, how do you think it would look to use a piece of thicker stock near the bow that was gradually tapered to be somewhere (about 1/2 way) between the two angles.


Thanks,

Joe

[Tim]

If I remember correctly, I stuck a line about 1/2" below the seam of the hull deck joint, and aligned the bottoms of the boards with that. Then I allowed the tops to extend about 1/4" above the highest extent of the molded rail beneath, mostly to ensure that the top board would have no intereference from below.

Remember that the Triton hull/deck joint does not rely at all on external caulking or sealing for watertight integrity, at least in design. The entire joint is fiberglassed from within, and assuming the tabbing has maintained its integrity, there's no need to apply any sealer over that small external seam. The sealant in my installation is there to seal the screw holes that secure the boards to the hull, and also to act as an adhesive to help hold everything in place. If you know that you have voids where water could get through, I would certainly recommend that you seal them first rather than rely upon the caulking of any rubrail.

If the boards are to be attached to the hull, it will be difficult to install them in this manner without following the line of the hull. This particular installation requires that the boards be relatively flat to the hull so that the screws will hold them without breaking the boards, which are only 1/4" thick. You could use thicker stock if you wanted and still be able to bend it to the curves, within reason.

You could also install the boards so that they only extended, say, to the top of the hull/deck seam, which would then cause them to follow the line of the molded toerail. This might work well if you plan to install a rubrail to enhance the lower edge and cover the hull/deck seam. Although I installed a separate rubrail a few years after the fact, when I first built the rail I needed the outside boards to cover the hull/deck seam, which is why I extended them down beyond it on the hull. But it could work the other way; you just need to cover that seam one way or another.

In the end, I chose something that was aesthetically pleasing based on the factors at hand. I suggest that the best way to determine what might work well in your case would be to build a small mock up using pine or whatever inexpensive utility wood is available in your area. Playing with the size pieces you anticipate using and attempting to hold them to the hull in one way or another, or against the existing toerail rather than the hull, will speak volumes as to what you feel works best and what looks good or bad.

As I've said before, I'm happy with how this design came out, but I don't feel it's the end-all. I've previously written about some improvements I would make if I were to do the process again. The molded toerail design makes it challenging to apply wood in a pleasing manner, and in my case the molded rail was in such bad shape that I simply had to just cover the whole thing. It's worked out well, but each boat is individual and may have her own issues that make an exact copy of my rail easier, harder, or less desirable to produce.