rub rail rubber shrunk???

tnc110 · Post by **tnc110** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:01 pm

when i bought my c22 the previous owner was planning on painting the boat and pulled the rub rail rubber out of the rub rail. I dont know how long ago he did this. today i re-sealed the seams behind the rub rail with 5200 and re installed the rubber. problem is that the rubber is about 4-6 inches short now. i guess it shrunk??? how can i stretch it back out....heat?

btw...i tried to soak the rubber and the rail with soap/water and push/pull it back in from one end...it didnt work. however i did succeed by using a rubber mallet to beat it in. start the upper groove by hand and beat the lower groove in...

Mario G · Post by **Mario G** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:27 pm

Hey Nick
yes a heat gun about a few feet on each end should do the trick.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:39 am

Heat gun might be too much, I used a bucket full of really hot water. Dunk the rub rail and wait a minute or two. The good thing its that the water stays hot and gives you time to install the rub rail.

mjt · Post by **mjt** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 6:20 am

I bought new rub rail that worked well. I don't have the exact part number anymore, but here is a link to the company and the page that has the rail I believe I purchased.

http://tacomarine.com/cat--Semi-Rigid-V ... vinyl.html

If you take an xacto knife and cut off a very thin cross section of your existing rub rail and mail it to them, they can tell you what the closest match they have is....

Mike

tnc110 · Post by **tnc110** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 3:33 pm

laid the heat to them with a heat gun and they stretched out perfectly...