Toe rail removed

SkunkBoat

SkunkBoat

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
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Location
Manasquan Inlet NJ
Website
www.youtube.com
Model
Express 265
These things made cleaning difficult Now they are gone. Reinforced the brush/ gaff holders with a piece of starboard The only drawback we could think of was possibility of sliding cooler crushing a rod. But we don’t put fishing rods there
 

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My toe rails will remain in place, very helpful when we are fighting fish. What is your plan to do with them now that you removed them?
 
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I didn't find that they helped at all. I prefer the open space actually. Fished many boats without it. The important thing is having room for your toes when your leg is against the gunnel.

They will add to the pile of pieces of starboard and plywood in my garage. If I never use them, I will give them to the next owner.
 
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Out of curiosity were they just held in place by screws? Been on the fence about removing mine.
 
We use them to help hold flip flops for everyone on the boat. Makes a great shoe holder, even at speed.
 
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I like em too. Will say cleaning is impacted but having them - especially for the family is important to me. To each their own!
 
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Not going to lie that is one of my favorite parts of my 265. Feel super safe with a toe hooked in while bottom fishing. You're right, it's always super dirty behind them.
 
They don't look bad when taken down to the original material and refinished just sayin'...
 

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I also like the secure footing when Im bottom fishing or just standing at the gunnel cutting bait. As annoying as there are to clean around I am going to keep mine
 
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I'm sure my toe holds have stopped me from going over the side when fighting salmon in rough seas. Kinda like removing seatbelts from a car if you ask me.
 
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Pighunter said:
I'm sure my toe holds have stopped me from going over the side when fighting salmon in rough seas. Kinda like removing seatbelts from a car if you ask me.
Click to expand...

In my case striped bass in Montauk, but they have kept me from going over in large swells a couple of times. I never really noticed it getting too dirty behind them.
 
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Having come from my previous boat, a 21' Arima that didn't have toe rails, I can't imagine having a boat without them now. Every time I was out fishing and netting a fish, pulling up crab or shrimp pots and so on, I'd have to remind myself to keep my balance, not over extend my reach and make sure my shoes or sandals weren't slick so that I wouldn't fall in. I'm 36 years old and bought my Arima in 2017, so I was around 31 at the time, and even I felt like I was going to slip or lose my balance several different times. I need to fix the rear screw hole for the toe rail on the drivers side though as there is a crack or a split in it. But yeah I couldn't imagine not having them now, and if it's slightly more difficult to clean behind them then so be it, safety first!
 
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