Replacing aluminium toe rail

[Sea Change]

Late 80s Jeanneau. Is it a fool's errand to attempt to replace the very tired and corroded toe rail (and matching rub rail)? Or are the extrusions relatively easy to find?
I see that Sailing Florence did theirs last winter and had to import it from Italy. It sounded expensive.
I also know that it's a huge job.

The boat will be in the US for a year or two which might open up some more options for suppliers.

 

[Neeves]

Late 80s Jeanneau. Is it a fool's errand to attempt to replace the very tired and corroded toe rail (and matching rub rail)? Or are the extrusions relatively easy to find?
I see that Sailing Florence did theirs last winter and had to import it from Italy. It sounded expensive.
I also know that it's a huge job.

The boat will be in the US for a year or two which might open up some more options for suppliers.

No idea .... but the extrusions might be made in China.

This might fall foul of US tariffs and/or might offer opportunity to buy from China (though you might need to work to find the source (but toe rails are not unique not hi tec.

Jonathan

 

[rogerthebodger]

There are 2 thngs about aluminum toe rails

1) the profile of the toe rail may differ depends on who extruded the original

2) the size and pitch of any holes punched through the toe rail.

I had some left over from my build that I tried to get some compatible. I could get the same profile, but the hole pitch was different

I eventually fabricated a complete set for the boat I am now renovating

 

[Trident]

No idea on the match but there are many toe rail profiles online you can buy - I looked at it for my boat which had 40 year old toe rails with some corrosion - in the end found it much easier to sand and fill corroded bits and paint the lot with ally compatible paint

 

[Sea Change]

Mine is too far gone to do any sort of refurb. And seeing as I'd be replacing the whole lot, that would at least open up my options for sourcing new stuff, as I wouldn't have to exactly match the hole spacing.

Does anybody have a rough idea of how much these things cost?

 

[MikeBz]

In 2018 a 4.275m length of toerail for a SO32 was £225 from Jeanneau, plus £120 delivery charge! Supplied by Jeanneau Spares & After Sales | Clarke & Carter.

 

[IanCC]

Late 80s Jeanneau. Is it a fool's errand to attempt to replace the very tired and corroded toe rail (and matching rub rail)? Or are the extrusions relatively easy to find?
I see that Sailing Florence did theirs last winter and had to import it from Italy. It sounded expensive.
I also know that it's a huge job.

The boat will be in the US for a year or two which might open up some more options for suppliers.

Why not ask Sailing Florence via their social media. I asked about some of their camera work and got a prompt response.

 

[geem]

Mine is too far gone to do any sort of refurb. And seeing as I'd be replacing the whole lot, that would at least open up my options for sourcing new stuff, as I wouldn't have to exactly match the hole spacing.

Does anybody have a rough idea of how much these things cost?

We did ours in 2021. We had the toerail custom made in the UK. There was nothing off the shelf that would fit our boat. Most toerails are designed to cover up the hull to deck joint. Our toerail sits on a flat deck, close to the edge. We also wanted minimal joints in the toerail so it's made in two pieces.
For a 44ft boat you are into about £6k or more for this custom solution. The same company made our original toerail in 1980.
With regard to matching the holes. I would suggest you want to avoid matching the holes. Far better to select a totally different hole pattern so you drill new holes. Matching holes is a nightmare, as a fraction of a mm out in each hole builds up along the length such that you have misalignment eventually. We found this with our new genoa tracks. They were theoretically the same fixing hole centres. Not in practice