Bow Rail removal for NAV light Upgrade

[Uncle Jim]

I'm in the process of rewiring my 02 and am having problems with the running lights on the bow rail.
Has anyone had to remove the bow rail? my running lights are mounted on the rail and the wiring goes directly in to the rail and then in to the cabin along the port side. I can get the wiring through the cabin without problems but I won't be able to pull it through the rail. Is the rail screwed to the deck only? I did not see any reinforcing on the under side. If so whats the best way to get at it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

[Rick Westlake]

I'm in the process of rewiring my 02 and am having problems with the running lights on the bow rail.
Has anyone had to remove the bow rail? my running lights are mounted on the rail and the wiring goes directly in to the rail and then in to the cabin along the port side. I can get the wiring through the cabin without problems but I won't be able to pull it through the rail. Is the rail screwed to the deck only? I did not see any reinforcing on the under side. If so whats the best way to get at it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

Obviously you've got the underside of the bow open, and the foam blocks scattered around the cabin ...

I haven't done anything with the bow rails, but I did replace my bow cleats in February; so I've been up in there, and did my share of drilling-and-filling.

When I put in my new bow cleats, I found big fender-washers under the original cleats and under the bow-rail bolts. I also found the fiberglass layup was about 1/2 inch thick, so I suspect Roger MacG. pronounced that "strong enough". After breaking a 3/8" nylon dock line with a new midships cleat I installed on a thinner piece of deck - I won't argue.

How does the cable run - up into the underside of the deck, into one of the bow pulpit stanchions? If so, I hope maybe you would be able to fish the new cable through the original hole.

Hope it works out for you ...
Rick

[Hamin' X]

Assuming that you are going to keep the lights on the bow pulpit, why don't you just cut the existing wiring inside the cabin and use it to pull the new wire through?

~Rich

[Kelly Hanson East]

Failing Rich's idea (or if you have already pulled the wire) a "fish tape" from the electrical section of your home improvement store should do the trick.

You can buy a marine blue version at twice the price of course.

[Hamin' X]

Use the blue fish tape and the job will go faster.

~Rich

[kmclemore]

Use the blue fish tape and the job will go faster.

~Rich

Yes, but in South Carolina you need to leave the head and tail on it, else there's a fine.

[Hamin' X]

Is that "fine", or "fin"?

~Rich

[Rick Westlake]

Is that "fine", or "fin"?

~Rich

You can cut the fins off.

[ROAD Soldier]

Just bit the bullet now is the time to reseal all bolts coming throught that area includeing cleats, stanchion, and hinge bolts. Course when you do that you are going to want to make that access are bigger like mine. Also while you are there reenforce the front cleats and fairlead chainplate with an aluminum plate for the front tip of the boat underneath like one guy here did, which I copied and made it better . But seariously do this and reseal the area you are going to have to do it ever 10 years mininum anyways.

[Trouts Dream]

This advice is beginning to smell....fishy.

Must be a friday in early summer.

[Uncle Jim]

Obviously you've got the underside of the bow open, and the foam blocks scattered around the cabin ...

You're talking about the "headliner" I presume? I looked at taking that down but could not find it's attachment points, does it just snap in place? Also it looks like it is one piece with the deck at the forward hatch, or is this just epoxy?


running a fish tape through the rail would work if I could get to the under side of the deck.

Jim

[Kelly Hanson East]

Is that "fine", or "fin"?

~Rich

Well struck, sir....

[Rick Westlake]

You're talking about the "headliner" I presume? I looked at taking that down but could not find it's attachment points, does it just snap in place? Also it looks like it is one piece with the deck at the forward hatch, or is this just epoxy?

Under the anchor locker, all the way up in the prow end of the V-berth, there's a large panel on the headliner that's screwed in place. It may be screwed and glued, but you can break the glue bond with a knife and take off the whole panel. It's almost the size of the anchor-locker hatch. The bow is filled with styrofoam flotation blocks, and they're messy to pull out; but once you have them out, you have pretty good access to the underside of the bow.