R-21 Starboard gunwale material

doug.williams · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:20 pm Post subject: R-21 Starboard gunwale material

R-21 owners--

My Ranger 21 has a gunwale cap that covers part of the seam between the hull and the cockpit liner. The cap is made up of 11 pieces of what looks like black Starboard material. The pieces are drilled for bolts that go through the hull and the liner every few inches, and I guess the bolts help hold the joint together.

My boat is 3 years old, maybe 50 hours on it, no trailer trips in the last year. It gets choppy where I go out (near shore, East end of Santa Barbara Channel, CA), and I sometimes hit a bump before I take the hint and slow down, but I generally take it pretty easy.

Four of the 11 pieces of Starboard have broken off on one of the outboard ends over the past year, right where the end pair of bolts goes through. None of the breaks are where I step, so I am guessing the breaks are caused by movement of the joint in a seaway--coupled with the inability of Starboard to bend bery much.

The Starboard acts as a spacer for the bolts, so if I replace it, it would have to be with something the same thickness unless I changed out all the bolts. The Starboard itself doesn't really look repairable.

I haven't contacted the factory yet for advice. Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks--Doug

C-WEED · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:27 pm Post subject:

What kind of warranty did you get? I would contact the dealer first if they are close. If you find they won't help, post a few pictures here. Worth a thousand... ......

Sea Wolf · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject:

Doug-

I can't really fully visualize the set up, but if it were my boat, I'd try to lay up multiple layers of teak over the gunnels, gluing them together with epoxy and using the layering process to alternate the grain structure to gain strength and resistance to splitting.

They could be made continuous rather than in sections.

For extra strength, you could make them as thick as desired.

You could use a router to shape the edges as necessary.

You'd wind up with teak gunnels, which would be stronger than any plastic (except layered fiberglass or carbon fiber), and they'd look much better than black HDPE!

Wouldn't be cheap, though!

Joe