bertram31.com

Where can I get the absolute best looking B31 rub rail? I think I prefer white rail over chrome.

joe
use alex witaker at 31bertram.com, highly recommended by all

Joe,

The PVC guard rail by 31 Bertram Specialties - Alex Whitaker, is designed as a direct replacement of the aluminum rail...

Br,

Patrick

joe
where are you located

I believe that Joe is in Florida.

Joe, Alex Whitacre be the guy! It made my entire boat look 100% better. How is the restore coming? Are you doing it in FL? I heard something about maybe MA or RI...

Dug

Capt Patrick,

What would the advantage be of installing the PVC replacement rail vs the aluminum rail. Taco appears to have the original extrusion (or pretty close)
The aluminum is less?...looks like $1,000 for the aluminum (no pre-bends) and $1,350-$1,400 for the PVC + SS cap...with the bends already in it.

Is one better than another?

the pvc is maintanace free, and you will not get the dreaded drip lines down the hull. i will be putting the pvc on hopfully soon.

you will still get drip lines down the hull with PVC, it has nothing to do with the rail, it has to do with the amount of pollutants in the air resting on your boat and then getting washed down with the rain.

I saw a neat trick at Onset Bay Marine to eliminate drip stains. They cut a piece of heavy window vinyl about 1.5" by 18" long, then they tucked it under the rub rail where the drip lines are. The flap diverts the water away just enough to avoid drips, its clear so it doesnt catch your eye and its flexible when rubbing up against a piling.

Bob H., I did that on my boat when I installed the rail, and it is the nuts!

Raybo, it does make a big difference from the aluminum. When your rail is tired and old, it gets hit with the nice rain from the sky. Any poor alkalinity in that water reacts with the aluminum rail and causes oxidation, which is what is causing some of the stripes.

If you have dirty rain, of course you will see more stripes, but mine virtually disappeared after installing the pvc rail. I find it hard to believe that the air and rain just cleaned up permanently over 1 winter...

Dug

Craig has the PVC rail for close to 10 years now, and the drip guards, and he still gets streaks in the hull.

He also keeps his boat extremely clean, so if he gets them- everyone will!

I get drips, no doubt. And I keep mine clean.

But the intensity and quantity changed like night and day when the PVC went on.

Call it what you will. I call it the rub rail. No worries, it could be other stuff as well. Who knows for sure. Probably got sprayed with Corrosion X at some point and that solved it...

Hello Joe,

Your restore is going to be covered by Marlin Magazine right? I tried to contact Dave Ferrell to see about an update in the magazine. Do you know if they are still going to cover it in the magazine? Look forward to reading about it.

Good luck

If you seal the top and bottom of the rubrail with sikaflex or something similiar wouldn't this make the problem go away?

I think Capt Patrick described a technique where you tape out the entire rail (on the rubrail and on the deck / hull side) finger on the sikaflex and pull the tape off.

Very small amount of 'goop' only in the area that you want it.

Ian.

ianupton wrote:If you seal the top and bottom of the rubrail with sikaflex or something similiar wouldn't this make the problem go away?

Ian.

nope, wont make the streaks go away

A high build, high gloss, properly cured Imron 5000 paint job and the streaks go away, they don't stick...when you start to get some streaks on the Imron after a few years, buff out by hand with a VERY light compound and use ReJex and nothing will stick no mo'. Spider doo-doo will stick some, but rinses off pretty quick, same with diesel soot on the transom with the ReJex.

I'm probably back in the Corrosion X product business to sell just to the Faithful and their friends....finally got the shipping issue solved. My pricing will be 25% off retail plus shipping, and a reasonable minimum per order will apply, say $50 or it ain't worth fooling with. Like Dr. Matt with the lures, not in it for the $, but with those dreaded 8V92s, he needs money mo' than me.

UV

ianupton wrote:If you seal the top and bottom of the rubrail with sikaflex or something similiar wouldn't this make the problem go away?

I think Capt Patrick described a technique where you tape out the entire rail (on the rubrail and on the deck / hull side) finger on the sikaflex and pull the tape off.

Very small amount of 'goop' only in the area that you want it.

Ian.

I tried that the first year I owned Windstar and it didn't help.

on a slightly related topic .....i sprayed max wax on all my running gear...all you can see is the stainless trim tabs...first they developed a milky coating and within a week it peeled off...so i thought thats that....however as i was asked a few times at the rendezvous........."how come theres no growth on your shiny bare metel trim tabs ?"

UV,

Glad to hear that CX 'business' is back in business. I finally tried out the Rejex that I got from you last year on my little skiff. Application was so easy I though I screwed it up.

I keep her on a trailer in my garage and water spots, everything just wipes off with a soft cloth.

Ian.

I recently sanded and polished my old aluminum rub rails and I was surprised on how they came out compared to what they looked like before. It took allot of sanding. I started with 100grt and worked my way up to 1500grt. I was thinking of adding a little 5200 on the upper and lower edges on the install to keep water from coming into the hull joints. Does that sound okay or should I try another method.
I should have probably went with the rubber rub rails but I am way over budget on this project already and had the time on my hands to do the work.
this is before

After

mike
the rails look great, dont use 5200 for the seam, no flexability and also 5200 is perament. iam using sikaflex 292 on my new install, best price i found was hamilton marine $14.99 per tube. did the bow section come out as well as the corners

As mentioned DO NOT USE 5200. Someone put that stuff on my rub rails and I am currently "trying" to remove it ^%%$#&*^

Yea the bow looks the same as the corners. It was allot of work. Iam guessing around 50 hrs plus.
I am about to install my side aluminum framed windows and was going to use 5200. Should I use the sikaflex 292 on that also?
I'm in Mexico so I have to see if the sikaflex 292 is even avialiable here. If not I have contacts in San Diego.
I'm in the process of putting a shit load of the boat restoration pics in photo bucket if anybody is interested in taking a look. Its under renegademike. Thanks for the advice, I can sure use it

Don't use 5200 on the windows!! Capt. Pat uses Sikaflex.

Mike-

The rails look great.

John F.

Mike: Are you going to have them re-anodized or just wax them often?

I will have to polish them often I guess. I used 3M metal polish and it came out looking pretty good. How often do you think I will have to polish them.

I don't know. If you put something good on them like CX or Rejex you may be OK. It just depends on the salt content of the water and how diligent you are at washing down.

I got 4 16oz bottles of rejex on the way. Can I put the rejex on over the 3M metal polish? I will have a captain and deck hand on salary since it will be a charter so I will make the rub rails part of there regular maintenance. thanks for your advice Mike T

Check the instructions and see what it says. Good luck!

I think 5200 has UV issues as well, that is it deteriorates or degrades in the sun. It may have issues with Uncle Vic, but I really can't speak to that.

On the rub rail topic...do any of you guy's have a complete aluminum rail that you replaced that I could cleaned up, polished and re-use? I'm looking for a "1/2 decent" aluminum one.

Scot,

I do.

dstowe@lutco.com

Dug

Thanks Dug...sent you an email.

Is the Alex Whitaker replacement rubrail the same for the Bertram 25?

I always thought the dimensions of the B25 rail were much smaller than the B31.

Does anyone else provide a replacement with precurved pieces?

Ian.