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I noticed many times that Viking puts a nice piece of clear polycarbonate plastic in place where the toe rails end on their hulls, up under the stainless cap rail between the stainless and plastic rub rail. The water running off the forward section of the boat comes off the gunwale, and is guided clear of the hull by this plastic, instead of running down the sides of the hull in a concentrated flow, and as a result black streaks here are largely eliminated.

I tried fashioning a piece on either side of Alchemy's rub rails a few years ago and you know what, it worked!!! Wonderfully!!!!

I needed to replace them every couple years, but that's no problem at all. Make it once I can make it again!

I re-supplied the plastic sheeting from Mcmaster Carr in an .030 thickness, smooth on both sides. I cut it long enough to fit under and around about 4 screw lengths of rail and I notch the plastic deeply enough that it can fit up and under the stainless and each of the rail screws will be able to fit into the slots allowing the plastic to be deeper in under the rail. It hangs down from the rail by about an inch, maybe an inch and a half max.

I need to replace the strips this spring and will do so after the boat goes back into the water. I can take a picture and share after that point.

In the meantime, I wanted to share the tip. Black streaks suck. :)

Dug

yes they do. the water draining along toe board from bow hits the raised area of teak on gun wales and is diverted to run down side forming ugly black line.did you cut this vinyl free hand with scissor ? remove screws and place in back of rub rail.

If you can't loosen the rub rail screws[like me] the yard that painted my hull used a 3m double sided body molding tape from a auto body shop and stuck them on under the rub rail been on for 4 years never fell off and just replaced them this year.

Yes Bob, I do cut freehand. And I loosen the screws just enough to get the plastic up under the stainless top rail, position it where I want it and then re-tighten the screws. The clamping action actually pushes the plastic out and away from the hull further enhancing the effect desired.

D

Would not a bead of caulk work as well? Keep the water from going behind the rub rail and pushing out the dirt?

I usually get a scrap piece of isinglass from the canvas guy and screw it behind the insert

Rob, that's a very good idea. I bet that is a bit less brittle too!

Joe, in my humble experience it's not from dirt pushed out from behind the rub rail. It's just environmental dirt and "acid rain" kinda stuff that washes off the foredeck of the boat and whatever is falling from the sky in the rainwater. In the past my boat spent time in a yard adjacent to the NY-Boston Amtrak tracks and it brought a lot of black streaks. More than elsewhere. And I have also experienced boatyards in the vicinity of power plants and it's really bad there. Reality is that if you keep the water off the hull, it will not stain. :)