spray rails
 

my 23,the boat is probably the best boat i've ever owned,and i honestly mean that.the only draw back is the wet ride.do spray rails help ? and where is the best place to mount them ? i asked a local fiberglass guy about this,he was telling me,and showing me,a boat he just made shields for.question here is,does anyone's boat have these shields ? and tell me your experience,please be as honest as possible,this isn't a cheap job.
thanks

Re: spray rails
 

Yes, spray rails help. You can have teak rails custom made. Around here, I know a man who put two 10' teak spray rails on his 24' Pro-line. It cost him $600 installed. They are screwed to his hull, as well as installed with poly-sulfide caulk.

Another option is the Smart Rail. About the same price, but you gotta install them yourself. Click here.

If it were me. I would just make them out of Starboard. 5/8" x 1.5" x 8' long. I'd screw them to the hull every foot just above the hard chine, as well as using 3M's 4200 or BoatLife caulk. 5200 would have better hold, but you'd never get 'em off without pulling off the gel-coat. The cost would be under $200.

Re: spray rails
 

thanks frank,never thought about starboard,excellent idea.i thought 5200 would not stick to starboard ?

Re: spray rails
 

You know, I never hear that. Maybe wiser heads can offer opinions on that.

Re: spray rails
 

I skuffed up a piece of 1/2" starboard with 80 grit sand paper and 5200'd it in the splashwell area of my brothers boat then mounted a hatch into it. It's been there 8 years and it's still water tight.

Re: spray rails
 

ok,rough it up first,that makes it stick.thanks guys

so,the spray rails,these really do cut down on the water?

Re: spray rails
 

Jim.. A lot of 20's and 23's have them. And they do work on knocking down the spray. Put them right on the hard chine and stop them just before the console. Taco makes a plastic spray rail, price isn't too bad, Hamilton Marine makes one too, it's bigger but you can cut it down for smaller boats.. cheaper then the Taco stuff but more work to make it work.
Good luck you'll be glad you put them on..

Re: spray rails
 

Starboard tends to crack at screw holes especially if overtightened or in this case, stressed very hard. I would imagine there is a lot of hydraulic force when coming off a 3'-4' wave. I would go teak.

Re: spray rails
 

Teak !!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...4/PDR_0010.jpg

Ken

Re: spray rails
 

I just jumped on, I have a set of PVC rails I just took of a 20', I'll let them go,CHEAP! Also, not much sticks to starboard. Email me if you are intersted in the rails.
obparker@att.net

Re: spray rails
 

Caymanboy is correct, Not much bonds to starbard, It is in the poly olefin family of plastics, polypropylene PP, Poly ethylene PE, UHMW, It is cheap and very broad spectrum material, one sheet is not the same as the next. It has oils and plastisizers that make it almost impossible to bond structurally.You can get a mediocre mechanical bond as one menber stated by skuffing and using 5200, once peel starts its over. Go with the PVC it is possible to bond this chemically and structurally. Remove a little gelcoat and use an MMA, Methyl Methacrylate to bond the pvc to the fiberglass substrate. If failure happens, the it will be the PVC or the FRP.

Re: spray rails
 

Caymanboy,
PM sent.

Re: spray rails
 

WOOOOOHOO!
Thanks Caymanboy!
Per strict instructions, I will install w/ Sikaflex 295 hi uv adhesive and #10 ss panhead screws. They need a little love, but not much. Wanna bevel the forward end a little and remove uncured adhesive/caulk, and a line of bottom paint on there now. Nice design. Convex on top like quarter round and slightly concave on the the bottom @ 2 1/2 w x 1 1/2" h. and probably pvc. Will tape off and scuff the gelcoat, tape off again, and screw n glue em on. Still pondering plugs for the screw holes. Marine Tex?

I`ll post pics later.
Hope to be done before fried thirty tomorrow. Janet wants to come fishing Sunday. :o :o :o
She doesn`t know it yet, but she will be learning to start the boat, leave the dock, Captain all morning and maybe even have a blast driving Wide Open @ WOT. :D We`ll be on the 60 line by Juno pier or just North of Jup. inlet if anyone else is in the neighborhood. Ch 68. Live baitin for Schnappah natch. Got a good plan to hook her up and ruin her for life. Sometimes the Mutton can be hard to find, but Capt. Bill Taylor has my back on this. Thanks Black Dog!!!
If you`re in town and looking for family fun, give him a call! 561-744-5700 and tell him Mr. Sandy sent you. Ignore his Banana eating habits.
Cheers,
GFS

Re: spray rails
 

Sandy, you're a scream! :D

Re: spray rails
 

Sounds like to old "CB"ing days.

"That's a big 10/4 there, good buddy! Put the hammer down and keep the bears off your tail! We'll catch you on the bounce 'round!"

Re: spray rails
 

Thank you Father.

Bones,
I love your teak rails, and Skip and Carla think that`s one of the reasons your hull rides so well. That, a light, lit up Merc.,and massive tabs.

I`ve enough teak to maintain, and I made some mistakes first time around. I have learned much to share on the fall do-over for the brightwork.

Ask questions first please. That goes here as well......

Hey Big Lew,
My nephew in Beverly said he saw a greenhead that was so big it had an N number on the fuselage. Are you filing flight plans for them?

Well, the rails are not on yet. The Sikaflex has a 72 hr cure time, and we have daily rain squalls.

3rd Day,
I was up at Mark Hauptner`s shop last Friday. He was using MMa to coat the tank over what looked like zinc chromate primer on a 27. Thoughts? Not foamed in either? Is MMa "takeapartable"?

Fishing day to follow.
Nice day for Janet and a big grin on the helm.

GFS

Re: spray rails
 

Hey Sandy,

With as big as the greenheads are this year, we better refer to them as "Mr. Greenhead"!

Greenheads don't bite, they SUCK!!!! The B52 of the insect world.

Re: spray rails
 

you recomend the shields ?
do you know jimmy,jimmy's marine ? he's the glass guy i asked about these.he told me he would put them on the area just above the water line-is that the hard chine-and he would run them back to be even with the console-sound right to you ? he makes these out of fiberglass,then sticks them to the boat.
with striper season coming up,i'm looking for ways to stay dry while running in a chop.
thanks for your suggestions don

Re: spray rails
 

Hey Scrapper,
Look at where NoBones has his mounted. Follow the side of the boat down to the corner of the bottom. That is the hard chine. You want them level with the bottom of the hull and curving down past it for max effect.

Jimmy should know this...... Only semi displacement boats have them mounted as he suggests.

Many people say they feel the spray is reduced by 80-90 %. Especially in a quartering or head sea. Many also feel that they trap even more air contributing to an even softer ride. Mine are now nice and clean after some acetone and elbow grease.

Mark Hauptner incorporated rails into the hull lay up of the Ocean Masters. The outer taper of the rails is @ 3/8 " below the bottom.

I`ll have mine on soon and let you know my impressions.

GFS

Re: spray rails
 

I used to fish with Capt. Bill and probably made too many references to the old SNL skit and he always calls me Mr. Sandy now.

What`s the payload of the mil spec greanhead?

GFS

Re: spray rails
 

About three units! That's "pints" of blood for the uneducated in the ways of greenheads.

Re: spray rails
 

that's the spot where he suggested-same as "no bones"

i'm going to go ahead with the job,pulling the boat on tuesday,then running it over to him.i will report back with how hte boat runs with the rails on it.