Rub rail screws?

[Gary M]

The HEY MON! had a run in with a dock over in the Abacos last summer and at least one screw broke. The game plan is to tap in two new screws a few inches on both sides of the broken screw.

Anyone have an idea of what size and length they used originally? If not, I'll have to try and back out a good one to find out.

When installing the new ones, I plan to drill a pilot hole and probably fill the hole with marine silicone and then lather some on the screw before screwing it in.

Any other ideas or things to look out for?

Thanks.................

 

[BobP]

Any cracks in the glass involved ?

Is the existing holes stripped? If not, remove old screw remains, caulk hole and rescrew new screw. I woud have no problem going up one size in screw diameter if stripped.

If you add a screw, remove another screw for size, drill pilot hole, pump caulk in hole, add screw, recaulk existing one removed for sizing. if existing scre is found endt, advise to replace since it may break off.

No need to add a lot of screws - each new hole is another than can leak.

Perfect job for a cordless screwdriver, those factory screws seem way longer than needbe!

 

[gw204]

And use 5200 on it instead of silicone.

 

[Curmudgeon]

They're about 2 in. I used a #8 in new holes, #10 in old holes. Silicone is just fine for this job, rub rails need to be sealed, but not permanently ... :wink:

 

[striped bass]

Screws are 1 1/2 inch stainless steel. Check out the heads before you purchase because they are convex on the underside. I just completed replacement of several screws on my Grady rub rail. The rub rail actually was drooping due to screws that had been dis-lodged loose. I drilled new holes for the new screws, removed the dis-lodged and bent screws and filled the old holes with 5200. Used the 5200 for the new screw holes as well and ran a small 5200 bead along the backside of the rub rail before re-securing to the hull.
In the process, I did notice a Grady White construction fault with the deck application to the hull which affects the rub rail integrity. Behind the rub rail the deck has an overlap lip on the hull to which Grady screws the deck to the hull. However, the overlap deck lip is very uneven (wavy) all around the hull such that some screws pass through the overlap lip and deck while others (about half) miss the deck lip and pass just below the deck lip edge and only penetrate the hull because the lip does not extend far enough down over the hull. The rub rail, therefore, does not fit flush up against the fiberglass surface area where the rub rail screws are applied and creates a void where the screws exit the back of the rub rail and pass just below the deck lip edge before entering the hull fiberglass surface. In these instances the screw must pass through a void area first before it meets up with the hull surface. Consequently the full strength of the screw is compromised because part of the shank near the head is exposed in the void and not embedded in the fiberglass. Heavy pressure on the rub rail usually forces the rub rail in the path of least resistance which is down since the screw shank near the head is mostly exposed on the underneath surface and has no purchase on the fiberglass. This also strips the fiberglass hole which requires a new hole to be drilled. The only way to make this repair is to back out several screws on either side of the damage screws so that you can access the old holes for servicing. For the rub rail areas where the deck/hull defect existed, I drilled new holes about 1/2 inch next to the old holes but slightly higher so that the new screws would penetrate the deck lip as well as the hull. This gave the rub rail a much stronger bond to the hull but the trade off was that the top lip of the rub rail tended to pucker upwards slightly where these screws where higher.
Let us know how your repair works. Good luck with your repair.

 

[Gary M]

Thanks for all the advice!

I pulled the screw out that was next to the broken one and it was bent! I took it to the store and got a few Stainless ones of the same size, head and lenth.

In the bent screw hole I dipped a new screw into a fresh tube of 4200 and ran the new screw in (snug but not tight!). On either side of the broken screw (a few inches on either side) I carefully drilled new pilot holes and then screwed in new screws as I did the other. In the broken screw hole, I liberally lathered 4200 over the hole in the rub rail but did not drill out the broken screw. It had broken pretty much at the head.

I allowed the 4200 to dry over night and then re-installed the rub rail insert........

There were no signs of cracks or any other damage. It was broken by a stiff breeze that kept rolling the boat against the dock, versus hitting the dock hard....