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Can someone tell me what year (if any) the side rail standoff stanchions on the 13 Sport were changed from being attached with an external "thru plate" from the outside of the hull through to the stanchion standoffs - to simply being attached with screws from the inside? I assume the newer inside attachments were made into embedded wood in the vertical sides of the boat... I know the 15 footer rails I acquired do not use the "thru-hull" attachment method, and I'm attempting to modify the rails for my 1987 13 footer.
I don't think there was any precise year when they first appeared. The backing plates were used when side rail were retrofitted to older hulls that did not have the wood backing or when the wood backing was rotten.
I'm trying to determine if my 1987 model used the external thru-hull plates. My previous 13's were only as current as 1976 (mine had no rails). My 1973 had the external plates, and were factory installed. The wood locating drawings for my year shows wood located at 14.5", 25.5", 61", 73"and 88" from the transom(approx. measurements). I must assume these are the backing wood for the various rail stanchions' mounting screws... It's gonna be a challenge to adapt the OEM 15-footer rails, since I have to match the mounting locations on my 13.
Soooo... if anyone needs a complete set of 15 footer side rails, I would consider a swap for the 13 foot version, or perhaps sell them, and hunt for a 13-footer set. Seems a shame to cut down a nice set of rails to fit - and not even be able to use the standoffs (too long, and wrong angle for a 13)....
I'm pretty sure that your 1987 13 would not have come from the factory with rails mounted with the screws going all the way through the hull side to a mounting plate. I think the 13's stopped coming from the factory with this system around 1977-1979.
I agree about the approximate time the change was made. Thanks. I verified that the wood embedded in the sides was for the rail standoff mounting screws after the change.
