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Author Topic:   Installing side and bow rails on Montauk

NewWhalerGuy posted 10-25-2001 09:52 PM ET (US)
About to install my new rails. Tips on optimum drilling, sealing, screw/type selection before I start?
Thank you,
David
Eric posted 10-26-2001 10:16 PM ET (US)
I hope you get a reply to this, as I'm going to be installing side rails this winter.
JBCornwell posted 10-26-2001 11:30 PM ET (US)
Need more info NewWhalerGuy. What year Montauk? Are you replacing rails or making an original installation?
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)
NewWhalerGuy posted 10-28-2001 08:30 PM ET (US)
1997 Standard (not Montauk)... and rails are new... was built without them. Has wood-location drawings though
JBCornwell posted 10-28-2001 10:27 PM ET (US)
Your '97 will have whaleboard, rather than wood backing, NewWhalerGuy.
I recommend that you use #12 or 1/4"-20 machine screws, rather than wood screws.
Get the appropriate tap and machine drill bit; drill and tap the holes just as though you were mounting the rails on metal.
Your rails will be more solid than a new boat.
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)
Whalerdan posted 10-29-2001 02:32 AM ET (US)
JB - Are you sure just tapping the hole is good enough? My montauk has brackets on the outside of the hull for the bolts that go through the sides. With as much weight as I put on those rails I would think they would pull out if you didn't use those brackets.
But I guess if they did pull out you could still drill through and use the brackets.
John from Madison CT posted 10-29-2001 07:40 AM ET (US)
Guys,
Do any of you know what the actual size is of Montauk bow rails? I'm buying some hardware that requires me to know if they are 3/4" (pretty sure that's not it.), 7/8" or 1".
Thanks,
John
JBCornwell posted 10-29-2001 08:27 AM ET (US)
Whalerdan is right. I overlooked the through-hull arrangement for the horizontal screws on the side rails. Be sure to use a guide of some sort to keeep those through-hull holes perpendicular to the inside surface.
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)
Bigshot posted 10-29-2001 12:04 PM ET (US)
Do as JB said on the deck. The sides you drill through and back plate. The factory holes on my montauk are pretty big and sloppy so I guess the plates keep any water out. I would also use a 4200 or 5200 bedding compound on the screws.
NewWhalerGuy posted 10-29-2001 10:41 PM ET (US)
Does anyone have a closeup photo of the backing plates that you are referring to for the Drill-through?
Thank you,
David
Tom W Clark posted 10-30-2001 09:54 AM ET (US)
http://members.home.net/tomwclark/backingplate.jpeg
Tom W Clark posted 10-30-2001 09:20 PM ET (US)
JfMCT, 7/8" is the diameter of the Montauk bow (and other) rail.
John from Madison CT posted 10-31-2001 07:28 AM ET (US)
Tom C,
Thank you for the rail size info.. I'm thinking of putting a rail mounted Spot light on the rail over the console. It would look kind of cool and allow for some night driving without having to hold the normal spotlight I have.
There are all kinds of rail mounts available , which gives my boat many options for additions of this and that.
Thanks,
John
TightPenny posted 10-31-2001 10:40 AM ET (US)
As I have previously posted, my 2000 Montauk does not have back plates. The stock #10 wood screws had snapped off due to rough water.
The Boston Whaler fix was to drill into the Whaleboard, and tap for 1/4" machine screws. This has held up all summer since the repair was done late this spring.
Andy Holmes posted 11-01-2001 11:13 AM ET (US)
My 1998 Standard came with factory installed side rails, without any backing plates. The factory used #10 wood screws and I have had no problem with loosening. I installed a montauk bow rail using the same hardware and have run it about 50 hours with some of the time in quite choppy water (Lake Michigan) with no problems. I bedded the screws for the bow rail in 5200.
TightPenny posted 11-01-2001 03:49 PM ET (US)
Lake Michigan must be less rough than the Barnegat Bay and the Barnegat Inlet. I know it can't be as rough as the Atlantic.
The side shots you take with all of the wakes in confined areas caused my rail to oscillate in a port-starboard manner. Played h_ell with the light weight mounting screws. The Whaler representative told me that the fresh water folk seldom have the problem that we have in the rougher marine environment.
So if you have to err, err on the conservative side and go with the 1/4" machine screws. This is my advice for what it is worth, but then again, I don't think my daddy wasted all of his money at Stevens Tech. Some of it, maybe, but it was in the 70's and partying was still socially and politically correct.
JBCornwell posted 11-01-2001 06:03 PM ET (US)
Hi, NewWhalerGuy. It appears that different years used different patterns for installing side and bow rails.
On my 1980 Montauk, only the vertical rail between the end and the center of the bow rail uses a thru-hull and backing plate.
I recall (possibly incorrectly) that my Sakonnet used thru-hulls on the side rails as well. I highly recommend that you set up your hole pattern to make maximum use of thru-hull and backing plate arrangements where possible. No alternative is as solid.
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)
Eric posted 11-01-2001 09:20 PM ET (US)
I have the rails for my 62 Nauset, bought them from the owner of a 66. Would the through hull hardware be available for this configuration? I was thinking about making backing plates from stainless and through bolting. It's a rough environment here where I boat.
Whalerdan posted 11-03-2001 05:16 AM ET (US)
I would think that Stainless would be better that stock. Mine aren't shiny chrome looking like the one in Tom's link. The stainless would look better.
JBCornwell posted 11-03-2001 04:09 PM ET (US)
While we are talking about rails, guys, I would like some opinions on rails and rod holders on this OR18 I just got. All of the bow rail fittings (8 60degree bases and 6 60 degree "T"s) were plated and are now ugly "as a 90 year old white woman" as Redd used to say. The cost of replacing them with stainless is about double the cost of replacing them with chromed Zamak.
Also, all four "LEE" rod holders are chromed brass and ugly, too. Again the cost of Stainless is nearly double the cost of plated brass.
Original was plated. Is it worth the additional several hundred bux to be better than original?? Is it worth it to replace them at all??
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)

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Author	Topic: Installing side and bow rails on Montauk
NewWhalerGuy	posted 10-25-2001 09:52 PM ET (US) About to install my new rails. Tips on optimum drilling, sealing, screw/type selection before I start? Thank you, David
Eric	posted 10-26-2001 10:16 PM ET (US) I hope you get a reply to this, as I'm going to be installing side rails this winter.
JBCornwell	posted 10-26-2001 11:30 PM ET (US) Need more info NewWhalerGuy. What year Montauk? Are you replacing rails or making an original installation? Red sky at night. . . JB :)
NewWhalerGuy	posted 10-28-2001 08:30 PM ET (US) 1997 Standard (not Montauk)... and rails are new... was built without them. Has wood-location drawings though
JBCornwell	posted 10-28-2001 10:27 PM ET (US) Your '97 will have whaleboard, rather than wood backing, NewWhalerGuy. I recommend that you use #12 or 1/4"-20 machine screws, rather than wood screws. Get the appropriate tap and machine drill bit; drill and tap the holes just as though you were mounting the rails on metal. Your rails will be more solid than a new boat. Red sky at night. . . JB :)
Whalerdan	posted 10-29-2001 02:32 AM ET (US) JB - Are you sure just tapping the hole is good enough? My montauk has brackets on the outside of the hull for the bolts that go through the sides. With as much weight as I put on those rails I would think they would pull out if you didn't use those brackets. But I guess if they did pull out you could still drill through and use the brackets.
John from Madison CT	posted 10-29-2001 07:40 AM ET (US) Guys, Do any of you know what the actual size is of Montauk bow rails? I'm buying some hardware that requires me to know if they are 3/4" (pretty sure that's not it.), 7/8" or 1". Thanks, John
JBCornwell	posted 10-29-2001 08:27 AM ET (US) Whalerdan is right. I overlooked the through-hull arrangement for the horizontal screws on the side rails. Be sure to use a guide of some sort to keeep those through-hull holes perpendicular to the inside surface. Red sky at night. . . JB :)
Bigshot	posted 10-29-2001 12:04 PM ET (US) Do as JB said on the deck. The sides you drill through and back plate. The factory holes on my montauk are pretty big and sloppy so I guess the plates keep any water out. I would also use a 4200 or 5200 bedding compound on the screws.
NewWhalerGuy	posted 10-29-2001 10:41 PM ET (US) Does anyone have a closeup photo of the backing plates that you are referring to for the Drill-through? Thank you, David
Tom W Clark	posted 10-30-2001 09:54 AM ET (US) http://members.home.net/tomwclark/backingplate.jpeg
Tom W Clark	posted 10-30-2001 09:20 PM ET (US) JfMCT, 7/8" is the diameter of the Montauk bow (and other) rail.
John from Madison CT	posted 10-31-2001 07:28 AM ET (US) Tom C, Thank you for the rail size info.. I'm thinking of putting a rail mounted Spot light on the rail over the console. It would look kind of cool and allow for some night driving without having to hold the normal spotlight I have. There are all kinds of rail mounts available , which gives my boat many options for additions of this and that. Thanks, John
TightPenny	posted 10-31-2001 10:40 AM ET (US) As I have previously posted, my 2000 Montauk does not have back plates. The stock #10 wood screws had snapped off due to rough water. The Boston Whaler fix was to drill into the Whaleboard, and tap for 1/4" machine screws. This has held up all summer since the repair was done late this spring.
Andy Holmes	posted 11-01-2001 11:13 AM ET (US) My 1998 Standard came with factory installed side rails, without any backing plates. The factory used #10 wood screws and I have had no problem with loosening. I installed a montauk bow rail using the same hardware and have run it about 50 hours with some of the time in quite choppy water (Lake Michigan) with no problems. I bedded the screws for the bow rail in 5200.
TightPenny	posted 11-01-2001 03:49 PM ET (US) Lake Michigan must be less rough than the Barnegat Bay and the Barnegat Inlet. I know it can't be as rough as the Atlantic. The side shots you take with all of the wakes in confined areas caused my rail to oscillate in a port-starboard manner. Played h_ell with the light weight mounting screws. The Whaler representative told me that the fresh water folk seldom have the problem that we have in the rougher marine environment. So if you have to err, err on the conservative side and go with the 1/4" machine screws. This is my advice for what it is worth, but then again, I don't think my daddy wasted all of his money at Stevens Tech. Some of it, maybe, but it was in the 70's and partying was still socially and politically correct.
JBCornwell	posted 11-01-2001 06:03 PM ET (US) Hi, NewWhalerGuy. It appears that different years used different patterns for installing side and bow rails. On my 1980 Montauk, only the vertical rail between the end and the center of the bow rail uses a thru-hull and backing plate. I recall (possibly incorrectly) that my Sakonnet used thru-hulls on the side rails as well. I highly recommend that you set up your hole pattern to make maximum use of thru-hull and backing plate arrangements where possible. No alternative is as solid. Red sky at night. . . JB :)
Eric	posted 11-01-2001 09:20 PM ET (US) I have the rails for my 62 Nauset, bought them from the owner of a 66. Would the through hull hardware be available for this configuration? I was thinking about making backing plates from stainless and through bolting. It's a rough environment here where I boat.
Whalerdan	posted 11-03-2001 05:16 AM ET (US) I would think that Stainless would be better that stock. Mine aren't shiny chrome looking like the one in Tom's link. The stainless would look better.
JBCornwell	posted 11-03-2001 04:09 PM ET (US) While we are talking about rails, guys, I would like some opinions on rails and rod holders on this OR18 I just got. All of the bow rail fittings (8 60degree bases and 6 60 degree "T"s) were plated and are now ugly "as a 90 year old white woman" as Redd used to say. The cost of replacing them with stainless is about double the cost of replacing them with chromed Zamak. Also, all four "LEE" rod holders are chromed brass and ugly, too. Again the cost of Stainless is nearly double the cost of plated brass. Original was plated. Is it worth the additional several hundred bux to be better than original?? Is it worth it to replace them at all?? Red sky at night. . . JB :)