Replacing the railings on the side of the flying bridge

[pschauss]

I am trying to replace the hand rails which are bolted to the sides of the flying bridge. The ones that I am talking about are the ones which run about 4" above the top of the cabin, not the safety rails which keep you from falling off of the flying bridge.
The end pieces for these rails are held on by screws going into the side of the flying bridge and, presumably, by nuts inside. What is the simplest way to get at those nuts?

Thanks,

[David Davidson]

I have just done this in the last few weeks.
They are held on with a brass threaded rod, which has a brass washer and nut inside the superstructure. The rod is drilled through the fibreglass and a length of reinforcing wood which runs the length of the hand rail.
There is no way around it, you need to drop your deck head panels to access the nuts.

I was going to buy new handrails, but instead sent the original pieces for re-chroming. They came out great and look new now for a fraction of the cost of replacing.

Good luck!

[Yannis]

I put a longer rail so that I could access the bow more easily.
I also added a middle retainer ring for more stability.
I put through bolts which came all the way through the fb structure and put a washer and nut underneath.
You can only see them only if you put your head under the fb rim.
I never thought it could be so easy, but it was!

[pschauss]

Thanks for the advice. I ended up dropping the overhead, not an easy task but an educational experience.

[Amberjack]

I'm with Yannis on extending the side rail forward after almost getting killed this summer. In the middle of Malaspina Strait in about 20 knots and rocking 'n rolling when the canvas front window cover started to blow loose. Instead of being smart and letting it go I idled down, went forward to secure it, then found myself trapped on the foredeck with nothing to hold onto when the boat started really pitching and rolling. I made it back to the cockpit but I'd give odds of 75% staying on the boat and 25% going off the boat in this situation. Terrible odds for just a window cover.

Lesson learned: MAKE BETTER DECISIONS! And I will make a custom grab rail that extends completely around the bridge.

[Yannis]

Amberjack,

For us who do a lot of anchor business here in the Med, hence a lot of back and forth to the front deck, we need a safer walk around rail, so like I said, I extended the existing side railing by as much as was possible, and added another SS handle further up onto the fb sides, because once youre out there you need a better leverage point.

I couldnt figure out a way how I could reach the bow rail WHILE still holding onto something, so I tied a rope that connects the two side railings and runs along the top of the front extension ( over the front windows).
That rope is snug enough, but gives you the slack to move a step forward until you can grab the front rail.
That rope is now permanent on my boat.
I didnt want to drill a permanent SS railing along there, first because I didnt think it would look nice, and then, because sometimes I sit there and it would ruin my ...comfort.
Also, as you walk back from the front deck while carrying things, that rope allows you to swivel on the boat side until you grab the side railing further aft. Just try it, its just a rope.