Varnish the rub rail on or off the boat?

[Carl Schaefer]

I've just completed stripping the old paint and varnish from the two rub rails on my Penguin, sanded them smooth, and they are now ready for varnish. I don't want to install them on the boat yet because the hull still needs to be stripped, faired, sanded, and painted. I thought that in the interest of time that I would varnish the rub rails before I install them on the boat. However, because they are curved pieces, I was concerned that as the varnish dried it might induce a slight change of shape, then, when installed, the dried varnish would crack. Is this a concern or should I go ahead and varnish the suckers? Or should I wait, mask off the area around the rub rails, then varnish them once installed on the boat? If I varnish them first, then install, the bronze/brass screws will show (there were no bungs in the original rub rails that I can detect). If I varnish later, I can tap in some bungs to cover the recessed screw heads.

[Norm Bernstein]

I'd most definately wait until after installation. Varnish has some degree of flexibility, but not THAT much... and it would look a lot better with bungs covering the screws.

[Carl Schaefer]

Thanks, Norm. I think I agree with you.

Carl

[JimConlin]

If the topsides will be painted and he rubrail varnished and you're not going to bung the fastenings, i'd do the following:
- Temporarily install the rubrail with all its fastenings.
- remove it
- finish the topsides and deck
- varnish the rubrail
- install the rubrail with proper bedding
- apply a couple of coats of varnish over the screw heads. These needn't be full coats of the rail.

This approach saves a lot of effort in taping off or cutting in the joint between the topsides and the rubrail.

If, OTOH, the topsides will be varnished, apply the rubrail first, as you don't have the finish joint to deal with.

The varnish is much more elastic than the fibers of the rubrail. If the stick will take the bend, the varnish won't be troubled.

[ 12-29-2004, 06:05 PM: Message edited by: JimConlin ]

[Concordia..41]

My vote is with Jim. Whenever possible, even if it involves additional time, I remove every piece possible. Reasons include:

</font> Getting a far superior job stripping, prepping, and varnishing a piece on a work bench or sawhorses vs. crawling around a deck or working on a stationary object.
</font> If you do a piece off the boat, you can wrap the varnish around the back of the piece vs. a taped edge that is subject to being lifted when you pull the tape and/or being damaged if you tape over the varnish to paint later.
</font>I apologize for not knowing what a Penguin (boat wise) is, but it sounds like a smaller boat and probably wouldn't be hard to do in place. However, and especially if the rub rail is along the topsides (toe rail = on boat/rub rail = on side), you've got tape top and bottom and I promise moisture is going gain ingress along that top paint/varnish joint.
So anyway, what Jim said including bunging the screws and putting a few more coats on after you put in the bungs. Simply blend a few more coats on the bunged area. If you're careful with the sandpaper, you don't even need to tape off because you've already THROUGHLY varnished the rubrail before you installed it.

Happy varnishing!
- M

Quick edit for spelling mistake ;)

[ 12-29-2004, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Concordia..41 ]

[Carl Schaefer]

Concordia, thanks for the advice. You are correct - the Penguin is a small dinghy. Here is the URL for the class website if you're interested:

International Penguin Class (http://home.dmv.com/~jenkins/)

Take care, Carl

[JimConlin]

I've been surprised at how much of this is done by the people at the Concordia Company. Seems to save labor and produce a better job. The trick is to build the boat with disassembly in mind.

[Concordia..41]

Cute boat! (and darn nasty trick of the folks at the website to post boats for sale... :rolleyes: )

Repeating to self...
I do not need another boat
I do not need another boat
I do not need another boat

Seriously, it appears your rubrail and your toerail (actually a buttrail) are one in the same, but you should still varnish it off the boat since you have the ability at this stage of your work.

Happy sailing!
- M

[Carl Schaefer]

Cute boat! (and darn nasty trick of the folks at the website to post boats for sale... Yes, it is. I used to own a Thistle. The Penguin reminds me of a Thistle 'mini-me'!