Refurbished Rub Rail Cap

Well, I hope I'm not posting everyone to death here.

When I bought my boat, it did not have rub rail end caps. As with many Hydrodyne 18's, my caps were gone. The caps, which attach at the rear corners of the deck to protect the corner of the boat and cover the end of the rub rail, were screwed into the shoe-box joint (deck-to-hull joint) with a wood screw. The shoe-box joint inserts were made from 1/2 inch untreated plywood coated with resin. On many boats, these rotted, particularly at the back. This resulted in the wood screws backing out, which allowed the caps to fall off the boat and sink to the bottom. Only a single screw held these on. I'm sure many lakes are decorated with Hydrodyne corner caps. My plan is to put a bolt all the way through the top of the transom with a nyloc nut to hold the corner caps on tightly and for good.

I was fortunate enough, through this website, to be able to trade with other members for various parts. In one such trade, I obtained a set of corner caps from Jim. When Jim restored his boat, he wrapped the rub rail all the way around to the back of the boat, which is a popular modification on these boats. Thus, he did not need the caps and gave them to me.

Below is a picture sent to me today by my fiberglass/paint guy - a true expert. On the left is the restored cap and on the right is the other cap, which has not yet been restored. Pretty cool stuff. Ultimatley, I've decided to hire more help from this guy because he really knows what he's doing and can help me with the fit and finish stuff He will be doing the stripes and rub rail, etc. with me as well, so hopefully they will turn out great.

 

The fitting looks nice. You might want to look into having it anodized. I think my tow pylon is anodized.

jim

 

Jim

An excellent idea. I am going to look into that for the transom support and tow pole as well. I met briefly with my neighbor last evening - the guy who owns a metal fabrication company with his brother, and we talked about how to build the transom support and mounting plates. I did find the measurements that Bob sent to me for the plates on Greg's (now Bob's) boat. So I'll use those as the starting point to get this stuff rolling. I just need to figure out what all needs to be done so I can do it all at once if possible. I might also have a new rope deflector fabricated to match the original because the only brand that I am aware of - and which I see on many boats - seems narrower than I would like. It seems to me that the rope deflector should keeps the rope from getting caught between the motor and the rear deck. I welcome thoughts on this, too.

 

I am not happy with mine. I don't think I would be satisfied with anything that mounts to the transom. Mine is flat on top which makes it easy to set the rope on it before you go, but if the rope slips off the flat uprights tend to trap it until I get going. It kind of jerks the skier when the rope snaps up off the vertical piece. Pam sometimes flips it up back to the top if she can. When doing deep water starts I keep the skier a little off to the side so the motor does not hide them from my view and I can watch them coming up and handle the throttle accordingly. This tends to pull the rope off the top of the guard.

I am thinking of designing one that mounts to the pylon structure. It should be contoured so that it cannot trap the rope and extend past the aft end of the motor, so the motor can tilt up and miss it. If shaped correctly the rope could be anywhere and not get trapped.

jim

 

Jim

My original rope guard mounted to the transom but it mounted at the very outside edges of the transom so the rope would never get caught between the rear deck and the motor. See the attached picture. With this guard, the rope will just slip off to the side of the boat. I wish I had a picture from the rear that shows the mounting brackets but I don't. I can take a picture of the brackets off the boat if you'd like.

The new rope guards that have been recommended to me and which I see on most of these boats (I will decline to specify the manufacturer name) are very nice but they are just a bit wider than the motor(s). I am guessing that the reason for this design might be related to the use of swim platforms on the back. If you've got a swim platform you might not want a rope guard that blocks your ability to climb up onto the rear deck. I'm not going to use a ski-platform. Since I'm not going to use a platform, I want a wide rope deflector. I am going to use the brackets and bar from the one I took off to use as a template to make a new one that is higher to accomodate the motor.

 

I agree, and that will work. It is so easy to climb over the side of the low profile 18 that the swim platforms are not necessary in my opinion. Just added weight.

I just think it might look a little cleaner to mount it to the pylon braces which are nearby. That would mean less holes to drill in the boat too. I just took a look at mine and my pylon is mounted quite a bit further forward than yours because it is the I/O pylon. I like the forward pylon because the skier does not pull the boat around as much, but it is in the way and I think it might be difficult to mount the guard to it.

I would make the top of the guard more rounded in your case just for aesthetics.

jim

 

You could mount a "twin rig style" rope guard to your deck. This would avoid drilling more holes in the transom. I'd have to double check the width, but I would think you could fit it on there. In fact I think I've seen an 18 with a rope guard like this on it.

 

How about measuring the width and the height. Don't forget the 18 deck is much lower. I have always liked the mounts though.

jim

 

Height is easily dealt with by bending the guard. Width - I do not have a boat handy, I think the width is about 66" which might be pushing it on an 18.

 

Here is a style that is working for me, Even though they had to move the pylon 6" fore to get motor clearances.

Rob