Stainless steel tow rail

[tsl]

Sorry TOE rail

I have been refurbishing an O'day 39. I'm finally at a point where I have refurbed most everything and all systems are now checked out. I'm ready to put in some $$ on the new toe rail. There is no chance for replacing with original. There are a few designs that will work OK. Nothing ideal.

I do have access to a stainless fabricating shop with the skill and equipment needed to fabricate a set of stainless toe rails. The toerail bolts are thru bolted and the nuts glassed in. It will be a challenge and expensive regardless of material (aluminum or Stainless)
The purchase price for the aluminum or the fabricating cost of the stainless are overshadowed by the installation cost so the cost of the toe rail is not the largest cost.

I'm thinking a polished toe rail would look great and would add a lot to the stiffness of the boat.

I'm interested in some input on this.

[model 10]

I can see doing this. Lots of welding of course and heavier in stainless. Perhaps an "I"beam with a flange on the bottom and a tube on the top with slots or open spaces along the length for drainage and attaching things, weight savings etc. You're right, it would look nice polished.

[eyschulman]

A company in the NW that builds high end steel boats under brand name Waterline does polished SS toe rails. You notice them right off they are spectacular.

[Cheechako]

So.... it has a an aluminum toe rail now? This is a really big job. Be prepared to have to grind out nuts that wont start on the bolts etc. You might consider different bolt spacing and using carriage bolts. I always liked the idea of being able to tell if a bolt is leaking rather than having it go into the glass! What's wrong with the old toe rail? If you fabricate a new one... maybe a design that gives you a little bulwark type of thing...?

[tsl]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

So.... it has a an aluminum toe rail now? This is a really big job. Be prepared to have to grind out nuts that wont start on the bolts etc. You might consider different bolt spacing and using carriage bolts. I always liked the idea of being able to tell if a bolt is leaking rather than having it go into the glass! What's wrong with the old toe rail? If you fabricate a new one... maybe a design that gives you a little bulwark type of thing...?

The old toe rail was badly damaged in three locations. I looked at placing cleats where the damage was. adding another stanchion, nothing works. The rail now has an aluminum filled bondo like product (All Metal Filler) on it. It looks ok but as I upgrade more and more of the boat , the toe rail looks worse and worse.

New bolt spacing would make my fabricator very happy.

Any and all designs welcome.