New toerails for Swan 41/031

As a result of a collision in the Para river with a 300ft barge, I am about to embark on a job which I never thought that I would ever do, that is to replace both toerails on my 41 "Trinket". My insurance only covers the replacement of the port toerail, which was bent beyond any hope of repair, however I have decided that it is essential to replace the starboard as well at my own expense. The new toerail is made in 3 sections with 2 joiners, so if only the port was replaced, the boat would be asymetrical, as well as having the unacceptable contrast between one 35 year old toerail and one new. I have just placed an order with Nautor for about 12000 euro, and have booked a sympathetic boat yard with a suitable shed. We hope to do the job in 2 months. I will be doing a lot of work myself, with the unattractive prospect of undoing around 450 bolts. The proprietor of the shed has done quite a few toerails in the past, however never on a Swan, usually on Bavarias where apparently they fall off every few years.

  Can any owners give any recommendations or advice as to the progression of this work, such as best technique for bolt removal, best bonding compounds, suggested torque to do up the new bolts, etc, etc. Any advice would be gratefully received

Cosmo Little

Cosmo:

Having just done my boat with new tow rails from Nautors over the winter of 2010 to 2011, I think your job should be about like mine, and I will share all the experience we had. Nautors did supply a sheet of tips, and sent all new fasteners and isolation washers (to keep the screw heads from electrical contact with the toe rail). The job wasn't too bad, all things considered. Lots of fasteners, as you say, but once you get the first hundred, you're on a roll. We only had a few that gave us trouble, and in the end, as I say, the job was pretty smooth.

My email is valveman at sbcglobal dot net. Feel free to send me a note, and I will reply with the basic info, then I can be on standby for any help you might need going forward.

Best Regards,

Geoff
Corazon, 411 #41

HI Cosmo, I just replaced the Toerails on my 48' but I decided to go for teak ones instead of the original aluminium ones. You need a lot of patience, a friend to help you tightening the bolts from inside , four sicaflex tubes and and impact screwdriver ( better if air pressure driven). If you need any advice feel free to contact me at Sergio dot Revello at gmail dot com.

Kind regards

Sergio