Teak Toe Rail and Rubbing Strake

The Toe rail prevents people and things falling off the side of the boat. The rubbing strake helps to prevent damage to the boat when it is bumping up against other objects such as quay sides.

I need to gain access to the side decks to seal the hull-to-deck joint and that means removing the toe rail. Here we have the stern toe rail (with the new deck sheets being fitted).

On the sides of the boat there is a second plank of teak rubbing strake beneath the black rubber one

The toe rail is fixed by large bolts through the hull and supposedly sealed with marine sealant.  The rubbing strakes are screwed to the toe rail.

You can see from the photograph that part of the toe rail is rotten . I will need to cut out the rotten section and glue in some new pieces. The Toe rail will also need to be sanded down and treated with teak oil or varnish.

I am taking all the Toe rails off except the very bow sections.  They are coming off quite easily which is worrying. I will explain the way to seal the joints between deck and hull in the future.