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Author Topic:   16-footer: Handrail Installation

robrcr posted 10-12-2013 04:49 PM ET (US)
I am trying to re-install the stainless handrails that came with my Classic 16-foot hull. When I checked the wood diagram for my model (1968), there doesn't appear to be wood on the very top of the gunwale where the railings were once mounted. See green arrows in this pic:
goo.gl/TP8zrC
Has anybody had experience with this type of installation? If there is no wood there, I know anchoring to just the thin fiberglass will be a waste of time.
crbenny posted 10-12-2013 06:09 PM ET (US)
The rails were never mounted on the gunwale. I don't know who did that but it wasn't the factory.
Chris
jimh posted 10-12-2013 08:10 PM ET (US)
This is an interesting topic.
A week ago on Friday we were coming out of the PIER 33 Restaurant on the Cheboygan River. We had dinner with a group of Boston Whaler friends, all part of our Mullet Lake Fall Rendezvous. One of the guys had trailered from Minnesota, and had come directly to the restaurant with his classic NAUSET in tow on the trailer. As we went to the parking lot, a fellow in a pick-up truck was sitting alongside the NAUSET, admiring the boat. We soon were engaged in conversation with him. He explained his interest.
"I designed the railings on this boat," he said.
He explained he met Dick Fisher at a boat show in Chicago at the Navy Pier back in c.1960. Fisher gave him a ride in his new boat, an early version of the classic 16-footer. They went out into Lake Michigan. It was quite rough, but the boat gave a great ride.
"Except," as the fellow explained, "there was nothing to hang onto."
This fellow worked for a company that made bow rails and other railings for boats, and they were exhibiting at the same boat show. He offered to make some rails for the Boston Whaler boat right there. He had brought to the show some rail bending brakes. He looked over the cockpit and on the spot invented the rail system that was used for decades on the hull.
"I just used some inverted oar-lock fittings, and I bent the rail to fit over them," he explained.
He said Fisher was so pleased with his design that this fellow's company, Hi-Styles, made railings for Boston Whaler boats for years afterwards.
jimh posted 10-12-2013 08:20 PM ET (US)
You can see many examples of hand rail installations on the classic 16-foot hull in
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/16-17/models.html
robrcr posted 10-12-2013 10:17 PM ET (US)
Thanks guys. I guess I'll be buying some oarlock style supports so I can anchor to the wood blocks instead of the gunwhale.
A word to the wise: Don't use zinc alloy, chrome plated supports for your railing bases. The fool who put together this setup used those and they are crumbling apart, while the stainless rail is still strong.
goo.gl/kt6up5

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Author	Topic: 16-footer: Handrail Installation
robrcr	posted 10-12-2013 04:49 PM ET (US) I am trying to re-install the stainless handrails that came with my Classic 16-foot hull. When I checked the wood diagram for my model (1968), there doesn't appear to be wood on the very top of the gunwale where the railings were once mounted. See green arrows in this pic: goo.gl/TP8zrC Has anybody had experience with this type of installation? If there is no wood there, I know anchoring to just the thin fiberglass will be a waste of time.
crbenny	posted 10-12-2013 06:09 PM ET (US) The rails were never mounted on the gunwale. I don't know who did that but it wasn't the factory. Chris
jimh	posted 10-12-2013 08:10 PM ET (US) This is an interesting topic. A week ago on Friday we were coming out of the PIER 33 Restaurant on the Cheboygan River. We had dinner with a group of Boston Whaler friends, all part of our Mullet Lake Fall Rendezvous. One of the guys had trailered from Minnesota, and had come directly to the restaurant with his classic NAUSET in tow on the trailer. As we went to the parking lot, a fellow in a pick-up truck was sitting alongside the NAUSET, admiring the boat. We soon were engaged in conversation with him. He explained his interest. "I designed the railings on this boat," he said. He explained he met Dick Fisher at a boat show in Chicago at the Navy Pier back in c.1960. Fisher gave him a ride in his new boat, an early version of the classic 16-footer. They went out into Lake Michigan. It was quite rough, but the boat gave a great ride. "Except," as the fellow explained, "there was nothing to hang onto." This fellow worked for a company that made bow rails and other railings for boats, and they were exhibiting at the same boat show. He offered to make some rails for the Boston Whaler boat right there. He had brought to the show some rail bending brakes. He looked over the cockpit and on the spot invented the rail system that was used for decades on the hull. "I just used some inverted oar-lock fittings, and I bent the rail to fit over them," he explained. He said Fisher was so pleased with his design that this fellow's company, Hi-Styles, made railings for Boston Whaler boats for years afterwards.
jimh	posted 10-12-2013 08:20 PM ET (US) You can see many examples of hand rail installations on the classic 16-foot hull in http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/16-17/models.html
robrcr	posted 10-12-2013 10:17 PM ET (US) Thanks guys. I guess I'll be buying some oarlock style supports so I can anchor to the wood blocks instead of the gunwhale. A word to the wise: Don't use zinc alloy, chrome plated supports for your railing bases. The fool who put together this setup used those and they are crumbling apart, while the stainless rail is still strong. goo.gl/kt6up5