What do you guys think about fixin’ this? The rail came loose, I can see a hole in both the rail and the fiberglass, clearly some epoxy of some sort (OEM?) but I’m not sure exactly what to do.
I can’t get to the underside of the fiberglass. So, I figure that I’ll get a little stainless all thread (1/4-20 or so) and fill both holes with some sort of epoxy (recommendations?), put the all thread in the boat and clamp the rail down until dry. Any better ideas? What kind of epoxy do you think, I’m in saltwater more than fresh.
Possibly it was repaired once before I bought it used. The hole just seems that it should be for the hardware holding it all together. The bungee shown is the source of the problem, I’m rid of it already.
There’s more to it than the bungee alone, I pried on something I shouldn’t have. The bungee was the reason I pried, not the pulling force.
Thanks for your expertise, you must do this for a living.
There should be a stainless steel stud in the hole on the rail(with a washer & nut on the fiberglass side). Apparently it has stripped out.
Usually the manufacturer thru bolts the rails before they cap the boat. That’s probably why you can’t get to the underside.
Is it possible to cut a hole and put a small inspection cover there to give you access to the area? If so, you can re-tap threads in the mounting pad and put a new stud in. You may have to go to the next larger bolt/stud size. Then thru bolt.
If that’s not an option, maybe someone here can come up with a fix for you.
Bob
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
I would not use an adhesive alone. People will expect to be able to put significant weight/force on a railing. If someone does and the rail fails, bad things can happen.
I’d either figure a way to get at the underside of the portion of the hull and follow Bob’s approach. Or, get a stainless flange welded to the bottom of the rail and use some good SS screws to reattach it to the hull.
To make sure it wouldn’t happen again you could cut an access hole( 4" or 6" ) below the hole on inside wall of the boat - put a stainless plate under the rail hole from the inside - match it up with a stainless plate that’s welded to the end of the rail - bolt through. Access hole w\cover - nothing wrong with that.
