We ran across someone looking for a handrail for their Super Sailfish MKII, the fiberglass version of the 13'7" wooden Super Sailfish. The handrails are a pretty important part of this boardboat, as there is not much to hold onto while sailing. Here are the rails on our SS MKII.
Most likely there are not a lot of spare Super Sailfish handrails laying around, so I offered to make a replacement. We measured the rail at 3/4 inches thickness, 41 inches long and 1 5/8 inches tall. Most likely the originals were mahogany, for this project I chose red oak, because that's what Lowes had in stock, ready to buy. I forgot to measure the height before I went to Lowes, so I guessed, as it turns out I can cut 2 rails from this 48 inch section that is "4" inches wide (actually measures 3 1/2"). There are host of other woods that could be used, in the future we might make a few from cypress or ash.
For this rail I took the oak out to our SS MKII and traced the profile with pencil onto the wood. Then I came inside and checked some basic dimensions with a caliper, like how wide the screw bases were, how high the rail stood and how tall the cutout areas were. The pencil tracing was off a little along the top, so I marked off 1 5/8 inches then redrew a straight line using a straight piece of wood as a guide.
I cut out the entire piece using a jigsaw. Next time I will use a table saw to cut the straight part of the top edge, that will make a straighter line. Remember your goggles and hearing protection.
Sanded the edges with a rando orbital sander, 120 grit to give them a nice smooth feel. Our edges are not as rounded as the 50 year old original, we left some room for them to age :) While I was sanding I decided to refinish the rails ou our SS MKII, they were pretty crunchy.
We used our rail as a template on where to drill the holes. When I drilled the holes, I put a scrap piece of oak under the new rail so that the drill bit would not blow out (tear out) the back side of the hole, couldn't show that here because I only had two hands. You can see the crusty patina on Sweetness' old handrail.
The original rails used a #10 bronze screw that was countersunk. I copied that with a 3/8 inch bit for the head of the screw and 5/32 inch bit for the threads. Next time I'll use a drill press, it was hard to control the exact depth I wanted by hand. Or skip the countersink. After holes were drilled we applied a coat of Minwax clear Polycrylic, it will protect the wood and let the grain show through. Polycrylic is water based and very easy to clean up.
The new handrail has shipped, and Sweetness has newly varnished handrails.
27 Jun 17:
Made some more handrails, made a set for the 11'7" Standard Sailfish as well, its handrails measure 28 inches. Used the pattern to set the table saw and cut the plank to height.
Traced the Standard Sailfish handrail profile with
Winnie as the model.
Cut the ends. Rounded the top edges with a 3/8 inch roundover bit on my 30 year old Makita router.
Cut out the handholds.
Sanded the edges with 120 grit.
#10 bronze wood screw specs.
#10 Combination countersink and pilot bit.
Finished up with a set of Standard Sailfish handrails. Also made a pattern.
If you'd like to order a new handrail, click on the Paypal Buy Now link below. The handrails will be cut from rot resistant cypress and shipped without a finish, so you can finish as you like. Please select the appropriate handrail for your type Sailfish. The 11' 7"
Standard Sailfish has a smaller handrail than the 13' 7"
Super Sailfish series. Standard Sailfish handrails are 28 inches long and Super Sailfish handrails are approximately 41 inches long.
