tikvah 59 wrote:I also removed the stainless rub rail and filled the hull/deck joint. Any opinions on the necessity of reinstalling the half-oval stainless rub rail (if you can call it that)?
A rubrail is only "necessary" in that it does provide that certain protection if you bring your hull against a high dock or piled pier.
I don't think my rubrail has ever rubbed against anything, however. So if you prefer the clean look without, then there's no reason to rush ahead with installing a rubrail. This does, however, have the potential for perhaps teaching you "the hard way" why they are installed, but all a rubrail is really going to do is prevent some paint scratches (or varnish, depending on one's toerail situation). Any contact more violent than an occasional light touch to a dock or piling will likely ruin a rubrail and subsequently damage the hull or deck edge as well, so it's not like the rail truly provides any serious protection. (Kind of like car bumpers, which deform expensively at 4mph...it's more about looks than anything.) By way of disclaimer, I should add that on some boats, the rubrail is a bit stronger than this and might actually provide protection in more extreme circumstances. But not those that we're talking about here.
If you do decide on reinstalling a rail, I'd heartily suggest the brass option--much more in keeping with the traditional looks of the boat. No one seems to have managed to locate a source for bronze half oval or solid oval/round stock suitable for a rubrail, so brass it is.
