Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.
Doing this for the second time, using Cetol again. Found a package in my cockpit after launching. It contained a new, unfinished, port companionway rail and an unsigned note "hope you can make use of this". I hope to find that kind person and give thanks. The top third of my port rail was broken when I bought it, but still serviceable. So now I have a new project; and a question. Should I apply Cetol to the rail "slot" or leave it unfinished?
I would apply some wax or parrafin to the slot. On my C25, after many years, the thin fiberglass that slides in that slot eroded and because it's so thin, it was difficult to repair to it's original strength. By waxing the slot, you'll reduce friction, and prevent it from wearing down.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind" previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22 Past Commodore
Thanks for the advice. Applied the third coat of Cetol today, and the boards look great. I will just wax the slot. I found info in another thread here about removing the old rail and hope that will not be too difficult.
I put 3 adhesive backed felt pads under each side of the sliding hatch. These pads ride on a raised rib of the pop top. These have been on for 2+ years and seem to have solved the problem. The pads are about 1/8 inch thick. I pretty sure I found them at HD. Lift the sliding hatch to the top of the "slot" slide the pads in from inside.
Removal of the old companionway rail was fairly simple. First, the inside trim came off easily, exposing the screws for the outside rail. The screws were not too tight, but fairly long (1 3/4"), so I'm glad for the battery powered driver. The screws for the outside rail, through the fiberglass, were buried and not as long. After removing some gunk and old bedding material, I used fiberglass compound to clean the area and positioned the new rail. As expected, it was too long. Measured what needed to be trimmed off and reinstalled the old outer rail and inside trim temporarily, bringing the new rail home to cut it down and form a beveled edge, and a few coats of Cetol. The fiberglass bulkhead has an outward curvature that must be flattened by the hatchboard rail. That made measurement for the cut tricky.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. 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.