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On my recently purchased 1974 custom 16 I would like to re fasten the rubrail in a few loose spots. Has anyone had any success removing and refastening the original 40 plus year old rubrail. I appears to be in good shape but worried the insert will crack upon removal or be too still and hard to reinstall. Should I plan on buying new? Throwing around the idea of painting the hull before I put on name decals, is desert tan the correct color? Thanks in advance

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Your rubrail repair should not be a huge challenge. As there are several different rail configurations, I am not positive what yours looks like. I can tell you that I had to reattach a good portion of the base with rivets and install a whole new insert. It is not a huge job and Sue at Twin Cities Marine (see company contact info on this site)will hook you up with the original materials you require. She is fantastic.

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I did a replacement on my 1984 Outrage but should be about the same. Drill rivet heads off, take a punch and drive rivet shanks deeper in hull if you can't remove them with a pair of needle nose or some other method. Fill holes with an epoxy re-drill for new rivets. Old rub rail will be brittle, as I removed the rivets I started taking the loose end of the rub rail and place it on top of the hull and taped it in place so that it didn't hang down and crack.. Hope this helps.

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The rubrail consists of a track and an insert. The track is a bit brittle, especially in cold weather. The insert is not so sensitive.

It is recommended that rubrail work be done in warm temperatures to ease in handling.

You can pull the insert, drill holes and use screws if the damaged areas are limited.

The hull is desert tan gelcoat.

Unless you have significant small cracks all over the boat, I suggest you buff the hull out before making the decision to paint. You will be crossing a significant line in the sand once you paint.

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Thanks for the info. Being that I'm up here in Canada and the weather if hovering just above freezing I think I will fire up the heaters in the garage and attempt to repair the rub rail. The more I think about a repaint the more I talk myself out of it. The boat was painted after a accident 15 years ago and isn't in that bad of shape. I will try to polish it and see how it turns out. The few chips and marks I maybe able to touch up or cover with new decals. I am going to use it for crabbing and prawning, so I'm sure it will get marked up anyway.

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Reel blessed: While the original interior gelcoat color of your 1974 16 hull was desert tan, the exterior was actually light gray or more often called Outrage gray. Boston Whaler produced desert tan colored interior and exterior gelcoat boats starting in c1984.

I too am waiting for warmer weather to repair a section of gunnel guard on my 1967 Fisher Pierce Blue Hull 16.

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Ok now that makes more sense. The interior of the boat has not been painted as far as I can tell. The outside of the hull has and it is the same color as the interior. I have been told that the hull is the wrong color buy a local long time whaler owner. The color looks to be desert tan. Would the decals have been red or could they have been black?

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In 1974, the decals were red.

The only source for decals is Magic Brush. Call or email

http://www.magicbrushsign.com/marine/om/marine/

I also did my registration numbers too to match. Sweet.

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Thanks. Just sent a email to see if they will ship to Canada.

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Rub rail is re fastened and new insert installed. Now on to the next projects. New decals and non skid.