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Hey guys:

First off, thanks for all of the insight on my bimini top purchase. You were all very helpful.

Tis the season for upgrades. My Montauk has an aftermarket rub rail. It was on the boat when I purchased it. Anyway, it is in bad shape, so I removed it. I ordered a new rub rail from Twin Cities Marine and it arrived today. I started taking the old rail off and I think I see a problem coming.

The bow light, as you know, is wired along the rub rail to the rear of the boat. Between the insulator and the 2 wires inside it, I don't see how it is going to fit inside the new rub rail, which is factory.

Any ideas?

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Most of the wires I have seen are 2 wires with gray and black. These look more like a house extension cord wire except for the color. This extension cord type fits between the parts of the rub rail.

It sounds like you may have something else.

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Kriz:

I just went outside and gave it a second look. I have a red and a yellow inside of an insulator that reads 16awg. I'm wondering if I removwe the wires from the insulator and separate the red and yellow. Then put the red in the top of rigid vinyl track and the yellow in the bottom of the rigid track.

I wonder if this would leave enough room to install the rub rail itself.

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You gotta keep the wires out the part of the receiver where the insert edges go, so top and bottom sounds not so good to me. I would suggest running them right in the center of the receiver track, over your rivets, or screws, whatever you pick. if you can get one guy to hold the wire in the center and hit the vinyl with a hair dryer, or heat gun on low you can cram the insert in there with the wire in the middle, otherwise I would suggest small bits of clear packing tape to hold it in the center.

Others probably have better ideas, but thats me anyway.

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JQuigley:

I know exactly what you are saying. I was outside tinkering and came up with this. I can tape the wires together as a pair and then tape or spot glue them to the center of the track. Then the rub rail can be seated.

I plan to take this on tomorrow. I foresee sore hands, plenty of agravation, maybe a "choice word or two" and a stiff drink at the end of the day. I am already regretting this.

I am a contractor and am having my crew come to the house to take care of some items on my wife's "list" that I can't handle alone. I wonder if she would have a problem with me paying them to install this rub rail instead....

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Just a thought you mught want to be careful using glue to hold the two wires together. It could have a deleterious effect on the plastic insulation and thereby weaken it or even melt it. This would cause it to lose its insulating ability-use light electrical tape as a better alternative.

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Thanks for the advice.

I installed the rub rail with the wires in the middle of the track. I didn't use any glue or tape, I just had one guy seating the wires as another helped me work the rubber piece in.

I had two guys that work for me give me a hand. Actually, they were nice enough to offer their help. It took the three of us about two hours and all went fine. I still would rather not tackle this again for quite some time. I hate to think of how long it would have taken solo. I was more than happy to treat my "God Sent" assistance to lunch.

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Awesome. Glad to hear it went well for you. For some reason, the rub rail is just not a one person job...