Toerails made of steel

[jani74]

Hi,

Been a while since I wrote here anything. But now I could use some opinions of toerails. I have van de stadt zeebonk 29” steel boat, and the old toerails were made of wood and those are beyond repairing. I was thinking of making the new toerails out of 3mmx30mmx2000mm steelplates and weld those to the hull leaving a 1-2mm gap between the deck and toerail and the welds 5-10cm apart from each other so the water will leave the deck easily.

Any pros / cons in this idea?

Br

Jani

[coopec43]

I don't like the idea!

It won't look too good and with such a small gap it will collect dust/dirt and rust like hell...

[GordMay]

What coopec said.
I'd raise it enough to get a line or shackle around it.
Crest, for instance, makes their perforated (alum) toe rails with a Slot Size: 1.25" Long x .625" High / 4" O.C.

[coopec43]

Jani


Here is a guy with a similar problem to yours.

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/in...e-rail.176257/

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by jani74

Hi,

Been a while since I wrote here anything. But now I could use some opinions of toerails. I have van de stadt zeebonk 29” steel boat, and the old toerails were made of wood and those are beyond repairing. I was thinking of making the new toerails out of 3mmx30mmx2000mm steelplates and weld those to the hull leaving a 1-2mm gap between the deck and toerail and the welds 5-10cm apart from each other so the water will leave the deck easily.

Any pros / cons in this idea?

Br

Jani

You having a steel boat and it sounds like you have it figured out. I would agree with coopec about the scupper height being to low. Good luck.

[Maclir]

I would use a stainless steel tube raised about 20mm over deck welded to short plates about 100 mm long with suitable gaps at intervals

[Qayaq]

Best to use stainless or your going to have constant rust streaks down your hull.

[RaymondR]

Consider making them from square hollow section aluminium tube, say 30mm X 30mm X 4mm with 40 mm long 30mm X 5mm tabs about every 400mm along the length. Bolt them on with 6mm stainless bolts using nylon washers to insulate the alloy tabs from the steel sheer. Leave a 10mm gap between the alloy section and the steel sheer.

Alternatively you could just bolt or rivet an alloy angle on top of the steel sheer.

[sailorboy1]

I thought the thread title was "toenails made of steel"

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Qayaq

Best to use stainless or your going to have constant rust streaks down your hull.

I believe the OP has a steel hull. I would guess he knows the down side.

[Fore and Aft]

I have seen stainless steel plates welded to the stanchions then a timber toerail bolted to the plates. Seemed to work well.
Cheers

[Cheechako]

I'd leave more gap, maybe 10mm. Of course this will require custom cut plate to scallop the bottom for welding. I assume that's why you want to do 2-3 mm gap to make it simple. I worry about rust and refinishing with that thin gap.

I wouldn't worry about attaching things in the gap though, it's a recipe for rust or for abrasion cutting of what you attach. I would have holes punched in it maybe every foot or so and shackles for attaching things. You could go with L brackets welded and then bolt the actual flat bar to those.

[PhilC]

In my opinion there is no place for wood on the outside of a steel boat. Just asking for maintenance headaches. My advice would be to use the flat bar proposed (go for longer lengths to get a fair shape) fully well with 1.5” x 8” cutouts for scuppers. Then weld stainless pipe 1” dia to the top of the flat bar. Extend your paint system from the hull across the flat bar and across the weld to the stainless leaving the top of the stainless pipe unpainted.

[Capt Nemo]

Originally Posted by PhilC

In my opinion there is no place for wood on the outside of a steel boat. Just asking for maintenance headaches. My advice would be to use the flat bar proposed (go for longer lengths to get a fair shape) fully well with 1.5” x 8” cutouts for scuppers. Then weld stainless pipe 1” dia to the top of the flat bar. Extend your paint system from the hull across the flat bar and across the weld to the stainless leaving the top of the stainless pipe unpainted.

I will agree with PhilC's design.
First, it is the right to build a toe-rail.
Second, it looks like a professional job well done.
THIRD, You should be pleased with the finished look.

[Capt Nemo]

Originally Posted by PhilC

In my opinion there is no place for wood on the outside of a steel boat. Just asking for maintenance headaches. My advice would be to use the flat bar proposed (go for longer lengths to get a fair shape) fully well with 1.5” x 8” cutouts for scuppers. Then weld stainless pipe 1” dia to the top of the flat bar. Extend your paint system from the hull across the flat bar and across the weld to the stainless leaving the top of the stainless pipe unpainted.

I will agree with PhilC's design.
First, it is the right way to build a toe-rail.
Second, it looks like a professional job well done.
THIRD, You should be pleased with the finished look.