E29 Hand Rails

[Jay Sauls]

Hey Folks, I've rescued an abandoned '74 E29 that was a Hurricane Katrina salvage. She's had a rough go of it, the salvager fixed her up, but never sailed her, sold her to another person that never raised the sails. I'm the third owner in 10 years and I've spent the past 6 months cleaning, scrubbing and repairing what I can. Now that she's no longer in danger of sinking - again - I'm turning my attention to the aesthetics and non-critical components. And excuse my lack of nautical language and terms (I'm a solo sailor with no sailing friends. Sigh), I muddle by as best I can ;-). Anyhoo, previous owner removed life lines and the handrails on the cabin. I'm going to try to rebuild these, but have no idea where to buy teak or other similar wood. If I could find some already made - and affordable! - that would be super. Any tips will be appreciated!

Jay

 

[Christian Williams]

Several sources of this pre-made product:

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=seateak-handrail&path=-1|7504|2290201&id=1759334

You can make them yourself. Many Home Depots carry "teak" boards. If not local try a hardwood supplier.

https://www.practical-sailor.com/news/How-To-Build-Handrails-10444-1.html

You can also go to stainless steel tubes. Tube fabrication shops are all around, and some specialize in boats, such as Railmakers.

They aren't hard to make out of wood.

Oh, and welcome to the Ericson forum. Put your boat model, year and engine in the signature line. (Settings/Edit Signature) so you don't have to remember to include it every time.

 

[toddster]

Congratulations! Getting the darned things off is the hard part.

On some boats, identical rails are mated to each other inside the cabin and on top of the cabin. This is very handy and highly recommended. Of course, the ones on top deteriorate while the ones inside remain pristine. And they'll curve in opposite directions, so it's definitely a two-man (or more...) job to get them in.

None of the pre-made ones seem to come in the right spacing for these boats, so if you want to use the same holes, you'll have to make some yourself.

I vote for getting rid of the teak and its associated maintenance. In another thread, someone recommended PlasTeak - it seems they'll custom-make what you need to fit your boat. Looks quite tempting. A DIY version might be made from PVC deck boards from Home Depot, but they don't seem to much cheaper than teak.

Coincidentally, I was wrestling with that very thing today and managed to stab myself in the wrist with a slipped tool. The boat draws more blood! Trying to climb down a ladder while applying direct pressure is fun. Aaand another blood trail to clean up.

 

[Loren Beach]

Finding vs making

You Might consider some from Catalina Direct.
Teak, Plastic, or SS.
https://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.searchResults

You can fill the leftover holes with epoxy and top off with gel coat.

If you mill your own, you do get the satisfaction of creation. It all depends on how you want to spend your Time....

Relevant lyrics..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EzURpTF5c8

 

[Jay Sauls]

Thanks everyone for your tips! Boat was in sad shape when I got her for pennies on the dollar. Slowly making my way from bow to stern fixing and replacing as I go. If she was a '67 Mustang, I could do this blind! But this is all mostly uncharted territory for me.