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Rub Rail Repair

Hanktoo

Member III
I have seen posts before and there was some debate as to how the deck to hull joint was made on the 35-2. I can't stand the chalkiness that is in the picture anymore so I replacing the rubrail. It almost felt like aluminum it was so hard and oxidized, but it is oxidized rubber. The good news was that the wood filler in between the deck and hull was solid the entire length! Yeah, big Yeah. There is a small lip both above and below which the rail base sits on. Picture for reference.rub rail sm.JPG
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
IIRC, owners of this model reported that over a Very long production run, those that have delved into the construction found that the deck was raised at some point.
I would guess that, initially, buyers reported that they wanted more headroom inside, and this was the solution.
With or without the wood fill piece, the inside was glassed over, permanently joining deck and hull.

This must also require a wider outside trim piece than the usual aluminum extrusion. Nowadays vinyl might be the replacement material.

$.02 worth of guessing. No warranty.

In the FWIW dept, a friend tired of the chalking/staining of his rubber strip over the deck joint on his oldl Cal 30, and painted the hard rubber-like material. He cleaned it well, masked off both sides, sanded the surface, and painted with epoxy paint in an off-white similar to the original 'look'. It came out pretty well and avoided disturbing the original vinyl cover.
 
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Hanktoo

Member III
Loren looks like that has been tried , probably more than once, there are a few colors in various spots
 

Hanktoo

Member III
wefco rubber

It is a fun job, there are screws every six inches, 35 ft boat you do the math. Then there is the insert. Laid it out on the deck in the sun and tackled it in the heat of the day. Not pleasant but more pliable. Here it iswefco rub rail.JPG
 

Hanktoo

Member III
Ugh

So I was so happy that I fixed this problem.Rail drip.jpg

Went to the boat yesterday, on the hard and the bilge was FILLED with water. Most I have ever seen. Went crazy trying to find the source, but it wasn't raining at the time. Finally went through the list of Hah improvements and thought of the rub rail. Went alongside and pried on a section and water poured out! So I believe I have my culprit. I spent a lot of time money and effort and it seems I have created a new, and worse problem. The streaks were just aesthetic, this is damaging. I am talking about lots of water. I am very surprised the water does not simply run down and leak on the lower part of the rub rail. Apparently, although water seems to easily get in, like the roach motel it can't check out. I am really shocked that the path of least resistance has turned out to be into the boat rather than obey gravity and go straight down. How does it create such a great seal on the bottom, or between the insert and the base piece? It defies logic.

I am up for suggestions and bids on the boat.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Do you mean that water is entering the boat from the deck/hull joint?

Is there evidence of that inside the boat?
 

Hanktoo

Member III
90% certain. there was lots of wet in the salon area and as I have the wood side panels out for the chainplate repair I could get my hand up there and it was wet. No way that much is coming thru the portlight and I have a cover on that part of the boat which should prevent it. I think the cover is contributing to the rub rail leak, because all that water from the mast back is rolling off the cover, down the scupper onto the rub rail. Still surprises me, while that joint is not watertight, it is not wide open either, I would have thought the water would stream down below the rub rail as it had in the past. There was a good amount of water actually trapped in the rub rail itself both in between the insert and base and behind the base itself.

for a temporary fix until i can get back to it, i pulled out a sectiion of insert and put a shim or two behind the base. hoping that will allow drainage until a permanent fix can be made. I will have to keep on eye on it. Boat is in the Chesapeake area so freezing is a concern and that much water in the bilge freezing solid would not be good at all. I am tempted to put some rv antifreeze in bilge to prevent that, but worried about how high this water can get, there was a lot.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Sorry to hear it. These leaks can be very difficult to identify.

When you get a break, have somebody observe the interior while you direct a strong stream of hose water on suspected areas.

For what it's worth, when Ericson used aluminum rub rail the rub rail was sealed to the hull with a heavy bead of caulking. Each screw was coated with caulk before inserting. Sealing the rub rail to the hull helps prevent the collection of dirt behind it, and so reduces the streaking of the cove stripe by run off (but doesn't eliminate it entirely).
 
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