Rub rails....

As anyone removed theirs? Benefits? Drawbacks?

Here's a thread on the subject from a little while ago.
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/rubrails-floating-docks-6496.html

If you wind up doing it and are getting rid of any brass/bronze half round...I''m in the market for around 25' of 1-1.5"...

In the Puget Sound and Lake Union there are still some fix pier/docks, and if you go through a lock and/or have to wait tie up against a wall then rub rails are used/needed. Our old slip at the South end of Lake Union, Yale Street, was fixed ranging from 3 to 6 ft above the water as the lake was raise/lowed 3 ft during the year. Also the dock was support by pilings on each side and the end, so many time in docking we rubbed up against the pilings. We had to go through the Ballard locks to get into the Puget Sound and the bigger boats where first and put on the wall, with other boats tied off. Lastly, our rub rail is about 3” wide and I use it as a step to get from the Pilot house to the low floating docks.

So in the Puget Sound area rub rails are still needed/used. Besides the rub rail add a classic line to the boat.

Well thanks for inputs in deleting them... Classic is cool but its spendy!

I''m in the market for around 25' of 1-1.5"...

Long walk to FL!

FF said:

I''m in the market for around 25' of 1-1.5"...

Long walk to FL!

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Do you mean that you know where some is available?

And im keepin em lol

And i lied! Decided to remove them, both stayed in one piece, both bent and cracked at a joint. Have em in edmonds if someone wants em...

Do you mean that you know where some is available?

Besides Jamestown Dist ,

my FL garage floor has some heavy duty bronze , but its in (if I remember) a couple of 12 ft lengths ,and UPS wont take long stuff.

I took mine off. Come pick them up.

Provided ample flair... no rubrail really needed down there! Of course, nice to have float docks with several amply placed and full length rubber buffered metal stanchions supporting a tall roof.

I'm reasonably serious about the 1/2 round...mine is 1.25 inches on the flat and about 1/2 inch thick. UPS will take 9 foot lengths and I would need 2 of them and 2 - 6 foot lengths.

Rub rails are like old door trim on a car,,,in the old days you replaced a cheap piece of trim on the door after a bad experience in a parking lot....not a $500-$700 repair for a ding in the middle of sheet metal like these days.

As a cruiser you never know where you might have to lay up against and fenders and fenderboards while they can handle most situations aren't always there when you need them or sometimes they don't stay where you want them.

Rub rails can't be everywhere, but as long as they look nice and part of the boat design...I say more the merrier.

Easier to paint then fix and doctor back 40 year old wood... Hulls are thick enough i dont think a rogue wave in the marina is going to stir up enough energy to damage anything structurally... Sounds like you are just stuck in your ways

saintglenn said:

Easier to paint then fix and doctor back 40 year old wood... Hulls are thick enough i dont think a rogue wave in the marina is going to stir up enough energy to damage anything structurally... Sounds like you are just stuck in your ways

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I work on the water for a living so I know reality...not yachting from under a shed roof or safe in some cozy marina except for a few trips a year....

Most boaters I know that have been boating all their life ... some have been charter boat caps and tour boat owners and yet see so little of the overall boating picture...BIG difference when you are out there almost every day and towing boats back to repair facilities for all kinds of reasons

Yeah...stuck in my ways for a good reason....

and as far as replacing the wood rub rail...ain't that hard as I've just did sections and the whole teak swim platform....it's just hard to find the brass 1/2 round to protect it from rubbing....

Would love to hear how and why a boat would
Need extensive repairs because the rubrail is gone from their trawler... Ya my boat is a loa and goes on short trips... I dont want need or have the time and energy to polish rotten rubrails. When they built mine 40 years ago they were lazy and used half the hardware needed to hold them on... They have seperated, moved at sling points and look like crap... But they are so special i should fix and spend thousands of dollars to repair them? I dont buy it

saintglenn said:

Would love to hear how and why a boat would
Need extensive repairs because the rubrail is gone from their trawler... Ya my boat is a loa and goes on short trips... I dont want need or have the time and energy to polish rotten rubrails. When they built mine 40 years ago they were lazy and used half the hardware needed to hold them on... They have seperated, moved at sling points and look like crap... But they are so special i should fix and spend thousands of dollars to repair them? I dont buy it

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You cost benefit analysis...do what you want...for me it's different...not right or wrong.

As for how and why a boat would need extensive repairs because the rubrail is gone from their boat...walk around any marina and you'll probably see why....yes the owner should have done something different...but sometimes it just happens because something changes.

Hmmm have not seen any that need repairs due to no rubrails... I will be on the lookout now

saintglenn said:

Hmmm have not seen any that need repairs due to no rubrails... I will be on the lookout now

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Sailboats are an easy find, especially with rub spots on their hulls. This is because the "new" look for sailboats are to have those nice clean unblemished sides at the show to sell...then all scratched up at the marina after a season.

Greetings,
Interesting topic. I can't say I'd instal rubbing strakes if the boat didn't originally come with them BUT I think I'd replace existing ones if it became necessary due to rot or damage.
I have both a substantial sheer strake faced with 1/4" X 2" stainless steel and an non faced rubbing strake. Both have born the brunt of their share of "oopsies" from pilings. Strategically placed fenders serve for docks, either fixed or floating.
So Mr. saintglenn to answer your question regarding benefits or drawbacks I think if the builder of your boat saw fit to originally instal such items there probably was a geometrical reason (the shape of Mr. Art's hull negates a rubbing strake due to hull flare) rather than an esthetic one.
I have also used the strakes to pivot around pilings in "honeymoon" situations.