I have a 2002 Gulfstream. One of the toe rails in the cockpit has a crack in it. Any idea where I can get a replacement?
Toe rail
- Thread starter jcacchio
- Start date
ROBERTH
GreatGrady Captain
Not sure what you have now, but I replaced mine with Starboard and see the new boats have done the same. It is doing great so far. Order the size you need from Boat Outfitters, Starboard cut to size, and if you have a router, you can round the edges as needed or they can do it for you also. They have a Starboard cut to size page that will get you what you need. I used the Seafoam color and it very closely matches the Grady Gelcoat color.
It is a really good idea to elongate the screw holes a bit since the starboard and the oem toe rail material do a decent amount of contracting and expanding as the temps change. That expansion is usually the cause of the crackingROBERTH said:
ROBERTH
GreatGrady Captain
I wonder what the OP has, starboard or the old resin stuff I had. Jcacchio, what material is yours currently?
I wouldn't think Starboard would crack?
I have 3/4" starboard and for that thickness, I didn't oversize since the screws are tapered heads and rely upon the hole to not be too oversized or they will sink too far into the starboard. So far, I haven't had any issues with the warping. However, that might explain why sometimes my screws are loosened... :roll:
However, the thinner stuff like the 1/4" trim warps like crazy for sure when it gets hot!
I wouldn't think Starboard would crack?
I have 3/4" starboard and for that thickness, I didn't oversize since the screws are tapered heads and rely upon the hole to not be too oversized or they will sink too far into the starboard. So far, I haven't had any issues with the warping. However, that might explain why sometimes my screws are loosened... :roll:
However, the thinner stuff like the 1/4" trim warps like crazy for sure when it gets hot!
ROBERTH said:
The coefficient of expansion is not related to the thickness of the material. The thinner stuff warps because it can under stress whereas the thicker builds up more tension (it takes more force to bend). The thicker may be warping a small amount that you can't easily see. The deflection amount is related to the tension AND the thickness.
The screws loosing could be due to the expansion in the perpendicular direction. That's to say that the material gets thicker and thinner as the temps change . In your case, the changes in thickness could be causing the screw holes to get squished by the screw head when temps are high and loosen up when temps are decreasing. You tighten the screw to take up the new depression of the head and then the cycle repeats itself. It is best to leave the screws a bit loose. The thickness and especially the length of the part has a lot to do with the impact of thermal expansion.
A piece of starboard 8 feet long will expand/contract 3/16 inch for a 30 degree temp swing. The toe rail in a vessel in my neck of the woods could easily see a temp swing of 80-90 degrees from summer to winter. A 4 foot toe rail would swing a tad over 1/4 inch. The hull itself is also expanding but at a much smaller rate. Something has to give
I really don't know what Starboard is. Whatever came with the boat is what I have. One of them is cracked at a screw.
ROBERTH
GreatGrady Captain
jcacchio said:
Google is your friend. But it's a lot like a white, plastic cutting board. It's a brand name for HDPE.
I have many screws loose... wait, are you talking about the starboard, aren't you?
But, yes, Seasick is correct - best practice when using longer runs of HDPE is to allow for some expansion. It's not as pretty as using a countersunk oval head screw, but you could use a pan head and washer - you can snug that down as it will stay above the elongated hole.DennisG01 said:jcacchio said:
Google is your friend. But it's a lot like a white, plastic cutting board. It's a brand name for HDPE.
I have many screws loose... wait, are you talking about the starboard, aren't you?
That is a good idea about the pan head screw. Now if you are woodworking handy and have a router and a few bits, you could rout an elongated slot for the screw shank and a wider diameter indented slot so that the screw and washer sit below the surface.
One other observation about the toe rail. There should be space left between the end of it and any hard surface it might contact when it expands. The size of the gap depends on the toe rail material and the length of it. If you install it in the colder season you need to make the gap a bit bigger than if you had installed it in 90 degree weather since it is going to expand as the temps increase.