Chrysler Sailors Forum

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...

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

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.

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

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