J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Toe Rail replacement

no dont use cetol ... its orangy and looks somewhat nasty ...

I found Wood Pro at West marine. very thin stuff. only one initial sanding ( like cetol) than you cann add layer on top of layer, without waiting or sanding, after 4 layers its looks like varnich ,,,,, much nicer than cetol...

And it hols up better than varnish too

thor

You might try Gluvit or there is another product call "something" Creeping Crack Cure". both available at "Boaters World". These are thin resins that supposedly will seep into a crack or void and then harden - thus sealing the leak.

probably worth a try.

I replaced my teak toerails with IPE - a very dense and durable wood - actually used for the wood on the Atlantic City boardwalk - suposed to last 20 years or so untreated.

"seeping crack filling epoxy"-GITROT,Gluvit, WestMarine makes one too.... They are all really thin 2 part epoxy made to insert with a bottle or syringe. It fills in wood to strength, perhaps might fill in the leaks. certainly worth a try and less time and money for replacing the teak. I put it in all the cracks and at the fasteners...which is where the leaks are (obviously)If you have holes to fill in your desk it seeps into the balsa core well.

I replaced my teak toerails with IPE - a very dense and durable wood - actually used for the wood on the Atlantic City boardwalk - suposed to last 20 years or so untreated.[/B][/QUOTE]

- Did you mill the Ipe yourself or have someone do it? I am very interested in this, I use Ipe all the time professionally and have considered slowly replacing things like the traveler blocks with the Ipe and the handrails on the top of the cabin, but the toe rails seemed too difficult with the gentle curve, Ipe isn't exactly prone to bending or shaping.

Any direction as to how you did it would be appreciated

mark@rhbpc.com

Yes the IPE is somewhat stiff but installing the IPE toerails was not too difficult. I cut the toe rails to shape , so they formed over the deck to hull joint. If I remember correctly I did not use the existing holes but rather drilled new ones in the newly fabricated toe rails. I removed the existing toe rails and filled in the existing holes with epoxy. I did not steam the toerails to bend them, I dry fitted them onto the boat and then let them set for a couple weeks before removing them and actually bedding them. (By then they had taken somewhat of a curve set) I started by drilling one hole through the toe rail and the deck and inserted a bolt down through the toerail and deck. Then I pulled the toerail inward, forming it along the outer edge of the boat and repeated the drilling and the bolting. Just keep this process going until you have the complete toe rail fastened down. Some of the toe rails were harder to form around the curve - I could have used some help but I still managed by myself. If you have someone there to assist it will be easier to pull in the toe rails around the fat part of the boat.