Dry-Fitting Rub Rails & Sanding Coaming Boards

November 28, 2015

Needing to get the rub rails onto the boat prior to the topcoat painting, I went ahead with the dry-fitting process today.  I had been debating whether or not to move forward with the installation of the rub rails and just going with the toe rails, but in the end I am glad I decided to proceed with the rub rail / toe rail combination - classic Typhoon stylization.

I had prepared nearly all of the fastener holes while the rub rails were off of the boat.  I did this by drilling holes to accept bungs with a 3/8" forstner bit; drilled at 8" intervals.  As I began to install the rails I would drill a pilot hole through the rail and into the hull, and then secure with a 1.25"-long #8 panhead screw.  I used a couple stacked tongue depressors along the edge of the deck to align the top of the rub rails with.  I wanted the top of the rails to maintain a consistent height above the deck and the thickness of two tongue depressors was exactly what I was going for.  The rails sitting just proud of the deck will create an overlap onto the toe rails once they are installed.  

I did have need to install fasteners in a few additional spots once the rail were on the boat: additional screws at the starboard and port bow, and additional screws at the starboard and port stern.  I followed the same process of boring a 3/8" hole with the forstner bit... 

...drilling the pilot hole...

...and then setting the #8 panhead screw.

Above, I'm using the stacked tongue depressors to gain the required height on the rub rail.  While holding the rail at this height, I drilled the pilot hole and then set the screw.  Below, the rub rail sits just proud of the deck, and will overlap the toe rail once it is installed.

The rail installation was fairly straight forward, and was made all the more easy with Maggie assisting me with managing the springiness and twist of the rails as I installed.  I marked the aft portions of both rail as they extended beyond the transom, and then used a small saw to remove the unwanted portion.  Some additional shaping of the rails will be required prior to the final installation. 

The next item on the day's list was to do some final shaping of the coaming boards.  I used 80-grit paper, by hand and machine, to round over the edges of the boards and to take off the rough surfaces. 

I also secured the forward coaming returns with 1"-long #10 panhead screws by first boring out a 3/8" hole to accept a bung, drilling a pilot hole and then setting the screw.  

The boards are just about ready to take their first coat of Epifanes varnish.

Total Time: 5 Hrs.