Stern teak rubrail replaced

Now that I have tackled the majority of structural and operational items on Aeolus, I am turning my attention to some of the aesthetic points of her presence. The stern piece of the teak rubrail has long caught my eye for being ragged and in sore need of attention. It was split in various places, and over time had been crudely re-attached with both adhesives and screws. The overall effect was that it looked dreadful.

To replace it I first had to remove the old teak, which was surprisingly difficult. After removing the bungs and all the screws holding it on, I had to battle with whatever adhesive had been used at the time of construction, which felt like at least 4200.

This is what she looks like with the old teak removed, exposing the hull joint. You can see the joint, and some of the screws which help hold the two boat halves together. Everything is glassed on the inside and so is bomber strong.

Hull joint showing teak removed. Screws are glassed over inside.

 

And here is a close up of the corner, showing the extra holes and mess of the PO trying to keep the old teak attached.

Can't wait to cover all this with new teak!

With the old teak removed and cleaned, I then turned my attention to prepping the area and shaping the new teak. I bought my teak from Edensaw here in WA and they are a great local source for exotic woods. Turned out a piece of teak decking was the cheapest way to get the size I needed for this. Using a wood shop at a friend's house, I was able to cut the teak down to the desired 1 1/2" by 3/8" size and got two that size out of the one original board. Pricey stuff teak. $60 for a board 8.5 feet long by roughly this width and depth.

New teak attached, awaiting bungs to cover screw holes. Looks fantastic!

My next task was to attach everything. First I had to be very careful to bend the teak piece and line it up properly to make sure it fit the space. Then I had to mark the middle hole for the first screw, as this sets the mid-point of the teak rubrail and can't be messed up. Then I move out toward the ends, working a new screw about every 6-8 inches until I reached the backstays. After I was done mounting and drilling all the screw holes and knew everything lined up properly, I went back and gave the place one more clean with acetone and prepared to do the final mounting. The hardest part of the teak bend is that it is not merely bent into a curve, but is also bent downward from the middle. So the wood is getting twisted a bit, and this puts real strain on it. I used Sikkaflex 291 LOT for the adhesive, in a mahogany color to blend in. It takes this adhesive a full 48-72 hours to firm up and so the screws are necessary to hold it that long. I bought new teak bungs for cheap, and will set the screws like the original work.

It looks fantastic, with my only complaint being that the stern will look so shiny while the sides have 24 years of fading. Oh well, don't think I have the need or appetite to replace all of it right now! Have to move on to my next project, already begun, to paint all the non-skid. But that is the subject of another post.