James bills
New Member
I have an 1975 Ericson 32-2 does anyone know the on the rub rail or a link to find them it would be greatly appreciated
Rub rails
- Thread starter James bills
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Welcome aboard, James. Please fill out your profile and add boat and engine to the signature line, it helps get specific responses.
There are many threads here on rub rail maintenance, and the best way to search is to use Google or similar, rather than the forum engine.
Not so many on the rub rails of '70s boats, our owners will know more.
There are many threads here on rub rail maintenance, and the best way to search is to use Google or similar, rather than the forum engine.
Not so many on the rub rails of '70s boats, our owners will know more.
Are you looking for the aluminum extrusion or the rubber (or vinyl) insert? Or both?
Weird coincidence. Well - just plain weird. Yesterday, I went to the marina and the vinyl insert for my port (dock) side rubrail was... gone! I am having a hard time imagining how that disappeared by itself. Guess I'll dive the slip and see if it's laying on the bottom, somehow. Gotta put together a couple of other u/w jobs to do at the same time.
Weird coincidence. Well - just plain weird. Yesterday, I went to the marina and the vinyl insert for my port (dock) side rubrail was... gone! I am having a hard time imagining how that disappeared by itself. Guess I'll dive the slip and see if it's laying on the bottom, somehow. Gotta put together a couple of other u/w jobs to do at the same time.
Touchrain
Member III
i got replacement from them earlier this year. Went withe gray after son and wife said to bag the less durable white. Bonus, it was cheaper and in stock. Powder coated the end fittings while I was at it.
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No contact with anything at all that I can see. It's on the dock finger side, well above point of contact with... anything.
I do see in this photo that the insert appears to have shrunk a bit, so it's pulled back slightly from the end caps. Will have to take a close look at the other side. But a corresponding shrinkage in width would be very small. IIRC, the inner screw on each end cap originally went through the insert material, pinning it in place - IDK why I didn't reinstall it that way, but didn't think it would make a difference.
This is the gray vinyl stuff, about seven years old.
Touchrain
Member III
E38, 1980 here’s all I have for before and after. This was very easy to do. On this style of rubrail. It popped right in, i evened and set it with light taps with a a rubber mallet.
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RKlemm
Junior Member
Hi, we just pulled our boat for the season. I have an 85 E32-3. We played tag with the dock and bent the aluminum rub rail. I was told that you can’t get that profile anymore and will need to replace the entire rail. The profile is a D without the vertical leg. So you have any contact info for Wefco Rubber. I’d like to talk with them.
Thank you.
Ron
There's always the aluminum option:
ericsonyachts.org
E32-3 - Ericson 32-3 and 381 Aluminum Rub Rail Replacement
Video update for the Ericson 381: Forum thread searches for "aluminum rub rail" go back many years and tell the story of Ericson as a yacht manufacturing company just out of business, then picked up by Pacific Seacraft, then with owners left...
Commotion
Member II
Just curious about the durability of the powder coated aluminum. I had my aluminum pedestal powder coated and had the mast wet sprayed with AwlGrip. Both 10 years ago, the mast is like new and the pedestal is blistering everywhere. The guy that painted my mast is the owner of a local powder coater and also a sailor. He advised me not to powder coat aluminum that sees any weather and said Wet Spray with a good primer is the way to go. I have an extra pedestal and just started today to strip it down. Going to sand blast it, etch it use a couple of different primers, fair it and paint it with a two part.
By coincidence this paint adhesion subject came up last week when planning on how to coat/protect several aluminum parts of our boat. (Boat is apart now for prep for a re-paint.)
Everything depends on the aluminum surface, and that varies a lot, depending on whether it's a casting or a machined part. The best protection is Hard Coat Anodising, but this cannot be done well enough on a more porous cast surface. It takes a lot of grinding/sanding to get those surfaces smooth enough, and even then results are iffy.
That's why most aluminum surfaces are treated with standard anodizing, and then sometimes for looks they are painted.
Our original Yacht Services pedestal is still in good shape, i.e. the gloss white finish is holding up. The flat plate that the guard goes thru has been touched up with epoxy paint once, with green alum. primer first. That was about a decade ago and the surface, while uneven, was still solid.
Which shows that preparation... is important.
I sanded off all of the old (and new layers) paint on that plate. It took me several hours. Starting with 60 grit and working up to 220. The plan will be to prep and paint, because back in those days they cast the part (easily confirmed by visual inspection) and the surface is unlikely to ever be smooth enough to take a good "hard" anodized finish. And, you might still want the original white color, anyway.
For comparison, if you look at the pix in my engine change-out blog, the new aluminum flat bars under the new mounts do have the dull gray surface from Hard Coat Anodising, and those were machined from flat bar stock.
Protecting aluminum is, in general, a more complicated subject than I used to imagine. (!)
Aside: the original anodizing on our Kenyon spars is holding up great.
And the painted sand castings of the gooseneck and end piece, not as nice. And so it goes...
Powder Coating... I am told that little nuances in application are extremely important. As we have all noticed, especially in the bases of our wheel steering columns, any near-invisible break in the surface will allow corrosion to really eat away the metal. I do not doubt that the parts were done to a pretty good production standard, but imperfections in the process are very subtle, and usually not apparent until a decade (or more) later, unfortunately.
Everything depends on the aluminum surface, and that varies a lot, depending on whether it's a casting or a machined part. The best protection is Hard Coat Anodising, but this cannot be done well enough on a more porous cast surface. It takes a lot of grinding/sanding to get those surfaces smooth enough, and even then results are iffy.
That's why most aluminum surfaces are treated with standard anodizing, and then sometimes for looks they are painted.
Our original Yacht Services pedestal is still in good shape, i.e. the gloss white finish is holding up. The flat plate that the guard goes thru has been touched up with epoxy paint once, with green alum. primer first. That was about a decade ago and the surface, while uneven, was still solid.
Which shows that preparation... is important.
I sanded off all of the old (and new layers) paint on that plate. It took me several hours. Starting with 60 grit and working up to 220. The plan will be to prep and paint, because back in those days they cast the part (easily confirmed by visual inspection) and the surface is unlikely to ever be smooth enough to take a good "hard" anodized finish. And, you might still want the original white color, anyway.
For comparison, if you look at the pix in my engine change-out blog, the new aluminum flat bars under the new mounts do have the dull gray surface from Hard Coat Anodising, and those were machined from flat bar stock.
Protecting aluminum is, in general, a more complicated subject than I used to imagine. (!)
Aside: the original anodizing on our Kenyon spars is holding up great.
And the painted sand castings of the gooseneck and end piece, not as nice. And so it goes...
Powder Coating... I am told that little nuances in application are extremely important. As we have all noticed, especially in the bases of our wheel steering columns, any near-invisible break in the surface will allow corrosion to really eat away the metal. I do not doubt that the parts were done to a pretty good production standard, but imperfections in the process are very subtle, and usually not apparent until a decade (or more) later, unfortunately.
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My experience with refinishing the YS pedestals is that you can do a lot of work seeking perfection, but that a good sanding job and a can of Rustoleum spray paint -- not even a primer coat-- gives a nearly similar outcome.
Spray paint is easily renewed, in place in the cockpit, as needed. I just resprayed my base after light sanding in place and masking the deck and the bolt-tops. Looks fine and glossy.
I only report this as personal experience at odds with my usual make-it-as-hard-as-possible-and-worry-a-lot-about-doing-it-right. The 32-3 base that broke offshore I had originally prepped with sanding, Interlux base coat, and three difficult coats of Brightside sprayed with Preval sprayers. (Fanatical devotion to perfection etc.) For the repair in Hawaii it was entirely sanded down by the welder and then I painted it in a windstorm on the dock with a can of hardware store spray paint and installed it while still tacky.
That was five years ago, and last year I asked Bruce how the pedestal looked. It still looked fine, he said. Go figure.
Spray paint is easily renewed, in place in the cockpit, as needed. I just resprayed my base after light sanding in place and masking the deck and the bolt-tops. Looks fine and glossy.
I only report this as personal experience at odds with my usual make-it-as-hard-as-possible-and-worry-a-lot-about-doing-it-right. The 32-3 base that broke offshore I had originally prepped with sanding, Interlux base coat, and three difficult coats of Brightside sprayed with Preval sprayers. (Fanatical devotion to perfection etc.) For the repair in Hawaii it was entirely sanded down by the welder and then I painted it in a windstorm on the dock with a can of hardware store spray paint and installed it while still tacky.
That was five years ago, and last year I asked Bruce how the pedestal looked. It still looked fine, he said. Go figure.
Commotion
Member II
I will document my pedestal rebuild for anyone interested. Because I have a complete second setup, I am not in any big rush and want it to be the highest standard I can achieve. I have to drill out all of the old broken stainless steel fasteners that are left, sand blast all of the aluminum. I am hopeful that I can shorten the pedestal by taking all of the center column down as if I were mating the top casting to the bottom casting. I installed a 42" wheel and have a few inches to lower the "big wheel" near the floor. It makes it very comfortable to sit on the low or high side. Also very comfortable to stand at that wheel.
One minor caution-- when setting the height, try to be sure that someone's bare foot cannot get painfully jammed under the bottom of the wheel against the cockpit sole.
I have seen this foot hazard on a few "racy" sailboats.
I have seen this foot hazard on a few "racy" sailboats.
Commotion
Member II
I agree!!! I will check it out... Perhaps I will not lower it! TBD. Thanks Loren!
Commotion
Member II
I single hand this boat most of the time and as you know, the Ericson 35-2 has a bridge that the pedestal sits on and divides the cockpit. But, then I have the main sheets, jib sheets on self tailing winches and traveler to keep out of the way... the traveler is on a loop and is pretty easy. The main sheet likes to get wrapped in everything. I have a plate through the pedestal Jib sheets can also add to the pile when things get hoppin. I have to keep the throttle and shifter clear while on the occasional motor sail. All I need to add now is a wedged foot! 