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Exterior Handrail Questions

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Auburn80
1st Mate

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60 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/05/2006 : 12:01:03

Greetings All! Hope everyone is getting back into the groove for the New Year.
My questions are about the best process for cleaning and refinishing my exterior hand rails. I have a 1983 Cal 25-2 and the railings are 7 loops long. My concern is about how fragile they might be once removed. If the thinking here is that they could be easily damaged; I'll clean them thoroughly before I remove them. Once removed, I'll carefully sand and put a finish on them then re-install with a good sealer. If experience reveals them to be pretty sturdy, I will just remove them first then clean/sand/refinish at home. I've inspected them fairly carefully and don't see any obvious splits or breaks. Thanks in advance for all your input!

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2006 : 12:17:58

I took mine off, sanded, and Cetol'd them. The key mounting points are the bolts, which allow them to be bent into place before the screws are added to the other loops. Remove the screws, and then put a little WD40 on the acorn nuts before removing them so as to avoid turning the bolts themselves--that can make removal more complicated. You should have no problem... Just knock on them first! Don't forget some polysulfide caulk around each bolt and screw hole when you re-mount them--don't tighten them for a couple of days to form a good gasket, and then tighten them down a little.

OOOPS! A Cal?? Hmmmmm... Forget the details--the general principles might still hold.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 01/05/2006 12:21:39

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2006 : 12:34:08

Clark,

The handrails aren't fragile and can be removed relatively easily.
On my 80' C25, the handrails are attached via screws from inside the cabin, but I believe some handrails were installed with screws from the top which might require drilling out teak plugs.

The only thing to remember when removing or installing these handrails is that they will spring somewhat straight when not attached to the cabintop. Care must be taken to prevent the handrails from springing straight as they are unscrewed and someone should curve the rail while another puts in the screws from underneath.

Additionally, I marked (etched) the underside of each rail so I would know both the side they came from and the fore/aft orientation to prevent problems with different screw hole spacing.

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Auburn80
1st Mate

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60 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2006 : 13:55:43

Good input guys . . thanks. Yea, it is a Cal but the systems, general layout and all the issues one has w/ a 20 year old boat are very similar to the C25. I kinda consider them as 1st cousins

Dave, I hadn't thought about the possibility the nuts might be stiff. Will definitely use some Liq Wrench or WD40 to help them along.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2006 : 14:59:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 On my 80' C25, the handrails are attached via screws from inside the cabin, but I believe some handrails were installed with screws from the top which might require drilling out teak plugs.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
For the record (not necessarily for Cal owners)... On my '85, each handrail has three bolts with the heads under plugs in the rail and acorn nuts down below. The other loops are held by screws going up from below. With a little care, the nuts can be removed without turning the bolts--with less luck, the bolts turn with the nuts. The nice thing about the bolts it they allow you to bend the rails into place, attach the nuts, and then add the screws. If the bolts turn with the nuts, you can pull down on them as you turn them to get the bolt head to bind inside the rail, Once loosened a bit, tap on the bolt up to push the plugs out, drizzle a little epoxy or other glue down onto the bolt heads, and let it set up to hold the bolts--then replace the plugs.

Edited by - on

IndyJim
Navigator

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USA
130 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2006 : 22:31:56

I just refinished my hand rails, hatch boards and my hatch slides. Unless you've got any clearly visible cracks in your hand rails, you have nothing to worry about. The do come of easily and its much easier to sand them that way than attached! I won't even mention what I refinished them with for fear of starting another discussion topic! :)
Now I've got the companion way board guides and step off and doing the re-finishing on them. Those weren't quite as easy to remove! But when spring rolls around I'll have beautiful looking wood with low maintenance. Now on to the other boat projects on the list!

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/08/2006 : 21:12:44

If you refinish your hand rails while attached to the boat . . . if you use any chemical cleaners or brighteners, be careful not to allow any of it to run down onto any aluminum window frames and/or plexiglas/lexan windows - else you'll probably damage those surfaces!

Edited by - on

Auburn80
1st Mate

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60 Posts

Response Posted - 01/08/2006 : 21:24:03

Thanks again for everyones input. I've decided to remove them completely before doing any cleaning, sanding or finishing. We had one of those rare January days here in N. Alabama - temps in the high 60's and winds ~ 15. . . . . Dang chores :-(

Edited by - on

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.