Eps. 2.3 - Handrails Re-bed and Hatch Refinish S02EPS03 

Funny that your video showed up in my YT recommendations. I’m restoring a small yacht and I had a different solution for my handrailings: I inserted screw-in nuts in the bottom of the railings and secured them with stainless steel bolts with a large head from the inside of the roof. I used glazing sealant to prevent leakage. Works great and they can be removed without causing any damage, as I did earlier today.

Absolutely a pleasure to watch your work. Love it.

I used dillute wood glue and wicked it up into the handrail gaps....after several times and if done after a rain the glue would wick its way up and now several years later the hand rails are still tight.

We need to send you some Marine Wood Finish - better than Cetol!

How will you or anyone in the future get those handrails off? Aren't the screws now expoxied into the hull?

You will never be the rails off in the future without damaging them. The epoxy bond will rip out the wood. Further, it has no flex, so as you pull on the rails it will will pull the fibers out of the wood and leak. You need a flexible bedding compound to avoid that issue.

Good video and appreciate the effort you put into these. using Epoxy is one way to do it, but maybe would have not been my first choice only because you will never get your handrails (which are very nice and seem like a unique design) off again without damaging them. You call Thixo a 2:1 epoxy adhesive "sealant" but it technically isn't a sealant unless you use it like you did and any flexing might break that seal. Thru-bolting your handrails were the key to making them sturdy. Using thicken epoxy to fill your core area is good, but I prefer to use the bent nail method to allow the fiberglass skin to remain on the top and bottom of the hole. Takes a bit longer to achieve good results though. I probably would have stayed with Bed-It Butyl tape after filling the core and drilling your holes since the through bolts are doing the work here. When using Butyl it is important that you chamfer the edges of the hole, and wrap some around the bolt before you insert it into the deck. (BTW - my handrails have the nut in the handrail and the head of the bolt down below. I have had mixed results with plug cutters. I have found that I often need to sand the plugs a bit to get them to fit properly. I have been debating on varnishing the hand rails since there are just too many nooks and crannies you might might get failure from. Cetol or Semco teak sealer are good options. I have used Total Boat's Danish Sealer (like Semco) with Sunbrella covers over my rails with some success this year. The Danish teak sealer won't last all year if left exposed and it is a pain to reapply if you need tape everything first - just like Cetol or Varnish...