Toe rail

[Killick69]

Managed to get out for a sail today (not much wind in the Hawkesbury though) and got some maintenance done. Night Cap has an untreated Beech toe rail, which I imagine is the original (almost 30 years old). Where it overlaps the hull to deck joint there is a gap inboard i.e. towards midships). I scraped the gap with a small screwdriver and with a putty knife. There was a lot of dust, mud and rotted Beech in the gap. The material that I removed from the gap was moist. I am thinking of cleaning the gap again, then getting the moisture out (bright sunny day or using a hot air gun), then sealing with something like Sikaflex. My concern is that if left as is, the Beech will continue to rot. Sealing the gap will also keep water away from the hull to deck joint. Alternatively what if I just spray or splash salty water into the opening regularly, as apparently wood does not rot when exposed to salt water. Hatters, let me know what you think.

P.S. the rest of the toe rail is in pretty good condition.

[bearmcnally]

Hi Killick

Re your toerail ? you will have to treat the rot as it is a fungi and it will keep on eating away ! Yes, freshwater causes rot and saltwater will help stop it .But you will need to submerge your toerails to make it work ! Beech is a strong timber but sadly Beech is not a good timber for toe rails or decking has it not a durable timber due to moisture changes Yet it will work underwater only if it is kept wet all the time .

Bear

[Aaron]

Hey Killick,
I had Beech toe rails and they were very rotted, old and had it.
The previous owner had filled it full of seka and snot which didn't work.
When I decided to replace them I took off the sections that had not fallen off
When I did I looked at the Hull and Deck joint which there was absolutely nothing wrong with, to Formit Glasses credit.
I decided not to put anything back. It looks fantastic! Its now just a rounded bit of fiberglass.

But if i was going to replace it I recon I would use teak as its good in a marine environment and has stood the test of time.

Looking forward to hearing your solution,

Dawn Breaker.

[Killick69]

Yes, the rot will continue, unless treated. I have one of 3 methods in mind. Apparently anti-freeze works. I have also heard of borates working well and apparently epoxy sealer not only seals the surface, but also travels along the timber and kills mold. It is good to hear that experience has shown a good joint between hull and deck. I don't know what the joint looks like. I want to extend the life of the toe rail on Night Cap, as the outside parts of the rail are still good and fixing the rot problem in the inside recess where the torrail sits above the joint is the path of least resistance (involving the least amount of work and hence allowing for more sailing time).

[Jeremy]

Aaron,

Could you post a photo of your boat without toe rails?

Tyrolean Storm had a previous owner with a fetish for sanding... There isnt much of the toe rails left, and the hand rails are about a quarter of an inch thick!

The hand rails are on the 'to replace' list. I may go without toe rails if it looks good.

Jeremy

[Aaron]

Hi Jeremy,

Yeah Sure can, I will be down on the boat hopefully Sunday so I'll take same photos.
We are properly due for some progress photos anyway so ill post a whole lot of them.

Dawn Breaker

[bearmcnally]

Hello Hatters

The humble Toe rail has a purpose not just for looks ? It a bit like a bumper bar and helps ,no it protects the hull and deck from fractures etc. So I personally would think about having one before removing it. It is much easier to replace and repair a split timber or bent aluminum than a damaged hull /deck !

Cheers Bear

[Killick69]

My latest thinking is not to seal the opening, because it might trap moisture and once sealed with Sikaflex, I won't be able to get to it. So now thinking of making up a borax/borate solution and putting it in a weed spray type pressurised bottle and liberally spraying it into the gap. Can repeat the process from time to time and scrape to see what is happening. What do you think?
Cheers, John