Toe rail repair

[tyce]

During a slight error of judgement during a race, my Moody 31 has a small bit of damage to its toe rail.
For a length of about 12 inches it has lifted a couple of mm from the deck and the vertical flange has bent inwards an equal amount. Now although it does not sound much, due to the fact it is damaged at a stanchion the stanchion bending inwards makes it stick out like a sore thumb.

There are no cracks in the gel coat or substrate so I think I have got of lightly and I have a repair strategy to unbend the rail with the use of strong backs and strong engineering grade g clamps but my question is should the toe rail be sealed and bedded to the deck or does the hull deck jointing compound take care of any leak paths, does the toe rail act only as a cosmetic item and also to locate the hull deck joint bolts through it but serve no other purpose and not require bedding in?

Hope that all makes sense.

 

[Pete7]

Were about was the impact? It's quite a big flange so doubt you have damaged the join but the bolts will be suspect and the holes may be damaged which could leak and cause all sorts of unseen damage over time. Was the impact to the rails hence the GRP isn't cracked and the leverage has lifted the tow rail?

Having straightened the tow rail I am not sure how you are going to seal underneath it if it has only lifted a couple of mm. The holes with new bolts should be easy enough.

Pete

 

[tyce]

Thanks for reply Pete that is a useful photo, I tried to look on line for a hull deck section of a moody, never thought to check in the locker.
The joint / flanges look even more substantial than I imagined and I am confident the thru bolts won't be damaged.
I was not going to add sealant to the rail I just wanted to make sure that it does not need sealing down, don't know how I would have done it if it needed sealing but can't think of any reason why it would but thought I'd ask for opinions.
The damage is above the stern cabin hanging locker so would be a big job to get to the area. The bilges remain dusty and water free and no signs of damp anywhere so I will just go with the unbending technique and forget about it.
Next time I will try and find something less solid to hit it was a moody 33, tough boats these Moody's, at least I beat him in the race!

 

[Pete7]

The stern cabin handing locker has some form of carpet material covering the hull and flange. You could cut and peel this back to have a look. In fact I think you will need to if the rail bolts go through the flange.

Pete