Spliced Rubrails?

[taw1126]

Somehow the two sides of my boat ended up being 16' 4.5" long (top dimension, laying flat...maybe a function of using metric okoume?). I was having trouble locating 16-foot stock for the rubrails but I don't think I stand a chance of finding stuff that is 17-feet or longer.

I was thinking about getting a 12-foot piece and splicing two 4-foot pieces on the ends by cutting a 45-degree angle and holding the splices together with epoxy. Will that be strong enough to support the sides? Does anyone think I'll have trouble getting the rubrails to bend correctly with a splice in the middle?

 

[oldsparkey]

I have had to splice a rail on two of my boats and there weren't any problems with them , they help up like one long solid chunk.

Chuck

 

[keith]

go for it, keep the splice away from the end as much as you can. the strain of bending is greater at the ends, start in the middle and work out to the ends, clamp about a foot apart. in other words , dont bend to far away from your clamps. later Keith
ps. if your building the "uj", forget what I said, there is no curve or strain.

 

[Mutinousdoug]

I was thinking about getting a 12-foot piece and splicing two 4-foot pieces on the ends by cutting a 45-degree angle and holding the splices together with epoxy. Will that be strong enough to support the sides? Does anyone think I'll have trouble getting the rubrails to bend correctly with a splice in the middle?

I have a splice on each of my gunnels inner and outer. They posed no problem for the boat ( a 16' Prospector stripper). You'll need more than a 45 degree scarf joint though. My inner gunnel is 5/8" wide and the outer is 3/4"; the splice is 6" long in each case. It's easier to clamp a longer (and lower angle) joint so it won't slip on you before it sets up and I think it makes a more subtle joint. You do have to take care to line up the two sticks so you don't end up with a kink that you can't plane out.
It is possible to clamp the joint too hard and starve the joint of epoxy. Speaking as one with first hand knowledge of such things.
HTH

Doug

 

[arrondo]

Does anyone think I'll have trouble getting the rubrails to bend correctly with a splice in the middle?

As one with no knowledge of such things, I've read the rule of thumb is the splice should be eight times longer than the stock's thickness. So for example, 1" stock = 8" splice. Now that I'm typing, I believe the term is "scarf joint"...

 

[hairymick]

Yep, minimum recommended ratio is 8 times the thickness of your wood for best results. I use 12 times, That is, if the timber is 1 inch thick, My scarf is 12 inches long.

I have tested these joints to destruction using quality PVA glue and the joint is stronger than the actual wood. I would imagine that a scarf joint glued with epoxy would be even stronger.