Doing away with the rub rails

[Greg & Angie Wheeler]

I just finished painting the brightwork trim, and now my next project is painting the hull. All of the rub rails had been removed by the previous owner and what is left is a line of screw holes where the rails were, rather than bother with a new rub rail I am thinking of just filling in the holes and just painting that area, I plan on repainting the stripe and I will just paint over the area that the rub rails were.  From what I can see they don't offer any protection, the point of impact if you come against anything is the cap rails.

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Greg,

Several of the boats we built had stainless steel half oval on the outboard edge of the caprail for the very reason you gave.  I've often thought the "rub rail" was a continuation of the half round bright work on the house: a trim to suggest the old time canvas decks and housetops.  It also, if I remember right, "finished off" the lower edge of the different color of the bulwarks.  I personally like that "rub rail" but that's me; do your thing.

I would put a real guard rail wide enough to extend beyond a vertical line from the edge of the cap rail.  Far enough out so the boat can roll at the dock and the guard would protect the cap rail.  It would be a real job, though, to hit that happy medium between too small to be strong enough and so large as to look bad (many of them I've seen are of the type).

Peace,   Capt. Clyde--that old man from the North East.