The original unvarnished teak handrails on the exterior cabin-top of my '82 E33 have eroded to the point where I no longer trust them with my life at sea. The port-side rail is split in one place. Today I don't have pictures to share, but on the E33 a handrail is 1.5" wide x approx 5/8" thick teak stock, curved about 6" over the 9' length. The rail was simply wood-screwed into six raised features (2 x #12 wood screws into each feature) in the deck molding. There are no throughbolts or embedded nuts as mentioned in other posts on other Ericsons.
Has anyone replaced a cabintop railing like this? I could go with new teak - maybe beefier, or maybe some synthetic lumber. I have also wondered about stainless steel tubing. With stainless I'm not sure how to fasten - something neat that would not cut up feet or toes - I'm not sure how you create a flush fastener in round tubing. (The raised mounting places have flat surfaces approx 1" x 5"). I have seem references to "flat oval" stainless tubing, which might make it easier to find an acceptable fastener, but I wonder if flat tubing is bendable.
So I'm looking for strength, a nice method of fastening, and something that will hold up to the elements without needing much maintenance.
Thank you for any thoughts!
Has anyone replaced a cabintop railing like this? I could go with new teak - maybe beefier, or maybe some synthetic lumber. I have also wondered about stainless steel tubing. With stainless I'm not sure how to fasten - something neat that would not cut up feet or toes - I'm not sure how you create a flush fastener in round tubing. (The raised mounting places have flat surfaces approx 1" x 5"). I have seem references to "flat oval" stainless tubing, which might make it easier to find an acceptable fastener, but I wonder if flat tubing is bendable.
So I'm looking for strength, a nice method of fastening, and something that will hold up to the elements without needing much maintenance.
Thank you for any thoughts!