Cypress Handrails for Alcort Super Sailfish

 02 Sep 20:

Sold another set of handrails for an Alcort Super Sailfish, they have been popular this year, this set is heading to Oregon. I guess with pandemic everyone dug out their Grandma's Sailfish, picked it up and the handles came off. We like using cypress for the handrails, it smells good and is easy to work with. It is on the soft end of the hardwood scale and it is rot resistant. After playing with power tools we brought out Grandpa Nelson's ratcheting brace bit and drilled some holes for bench dogs and hold downs with some vintage Irwin spade bits. We drilled spots for storage of those parts as well.

Alcort Super Sailfish handrails anyone? We got an order for a set, ship to Oregon. Cut some 3/4 inch cypress to 41 inches long, per the pattern.

Ripped the 41 inch blank to the proper height, set by the pattern. We ended up with enough wood for 2 pairs of handrails. Love our portable DeWalt table saw, the base is very stable.

Cut the ends with the jigsaw, then we round the top edge of the handrails before we cut out the hand grip areas, more room for the router to slide along. 1/8th inch roundover bit.

Traced the handgrips with the pattern, cut our with the jig saw, rounded over handgrips, sanded with 120 grit, captured dust with the Dust Deputy.

Used a vintage handrail to mark factory position of screw holes. We let the buyer drill their own holes, as they might be able to match up the new handrail screw holes with the old screw holes. I think we have one vintage set of handrails, if someone would like to buy them send us a message.

I thought the ShopVac was getting weak, turns out the Dust Deputy 5 gallon bucket was full. We are saving a lot on filter bags!

Alcort Super Sailfish handrails. Send us a note if you need some. We can make them longer or shorter too.

Drilled some holes to store the bench dogs and stops, 3/4 inch Irwin auger bit in Grandpa Nelson's ratcheting brace bit. Also drilled a couple of holes in the bench for stops to be used with the vise, and we'll drill more as we find common spots where we need stops.

Grandpa Nelson's ratcheting brace bit.

Hand rails shipping out to Oregon! 

Alcort Super Sailfish Handrails

16 Jun 20:

We got an order for Super Sailfish handrails, cut them out of some beautiful cypress. First we cut the blank to length.

Then we cut the blanks to width.

Trace the pattern and cut out the handrail with a jigsaw.

Rounded the edges with a 1/8th inch roundover router bit.

Video.



Comparison to Standard Sailfish handrails.

For more handrail info, type handrail in the search box.

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. We will mark the location of factory holes but leave the drilling to you, as you may be able to match the hole up with your specific boat. 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.

Sailfish ModelType

Super Sailfish and MKII Sailfish 41 inches $65.00 USD Standard Sailfish 28 inches $65.00 USD

Alcort Sailfish Handrails 27 Dec 17

27 Dec 17:

We make handrails for the Alcort series of Sailfish, the wooden Standard Sailfish, the wooden Super Sailfish and the fiberglass Super Sailfish MKII. The Standard Sailfish handrails measure 28 inches and have 2 hand loops, the Super Sailfish and MKII handrails measure 41 inches with 3 loops. We cut them from cypress or oak. If you don't have a preference, select cypress, it is local, rot resistant, finishes beautifully and we love working with it.

1963 Alcort Super Sailfish MKII SWEETNESS with Skipper at the helm.

1963 Alcort Super Sailfish MKII SWEETNESS

Vintage Super Sailfish MKII handrails.

195? Alcort Standard Sailfish WINNIE with Skipper at the helm.

Alcort Standard Sailfish handrails. The wooden Standard Sailfish was the first Alcort Sailfish, at 11 feet 7 inches it was 2 feet shorter than the wooden Super Sailfish and fiberglass MKII.

Cut a new set of handrails from cypress for an Alcort Super Sailfish, rounded the edges, sanded with 120 grit and drilled screw holes. Shipping to Pennsylvania. Used our handrail pattern to set the width and height cuts.

Cypress blanks cut to 3/4 inch width and 1 1/4 inch height on the 10 inch portable table saw.

Traced handrail pattern onto cypyess blanks.

Cut out handrail shape with DEWALT jig saw.

Rounded handrail edges with 1/8 inch roundover bit on a DEWALT compact trim router. Do NOT roundover the mounting bases. #dewalt

Sanded the handrails with 120 grit pads on a DEWALT 5 inch random orbital sander.

Stacked vintage rail perpendicular above the new rail and marked screw hole location with an awl.

Screw hole location marked with an awl. Screw size is #10 silicone bronze wood screw, 2 1/2 inch length. We use a Frearson head screw similar to what you see on the table purchased from Jamestown Distributors, but the originals had the standard head slot.

Drilled the screw hole with a Craftsman drill press, Fuller combination counterbore and pilot bit. Drill just enough to countersink the head of the screw so hands and clothing won't catch on the screw head.

We use a Fuller combination counterbore and pilot hole bit purchased from Jamestown Distributors to drill the hole. JD sells a nice kit with 4 different sizes, #6, 8, 10 and 12. Ho Ho Ho that's what I got from Santa :). Screw size is #10 silicone bronze wood screw, 2 1/2 inch length, JD sells those as well.

2 new handrails for the Alcort Super Sailfish ready for wood sealer and varnish. Also shown are a vintage handrail and our handrail pattern. Now that I have an old set of handrails I can use one of them for the primary pattern. Wondering why I didn't start off that way today? Well anyway, they are on their way to Pennsylvania.

We make handrails for the Alcort series of Sailfish, the wooden Standard Sailfish, the wooden Super Sailfish and the fiberglass Super Sailfish MKII. The Standard Sailfish handrails measure 28 inches and have 2 hand loops, the Super Sailfish and MKII handrails measure 41 inches with 3 loops. We cut them from cypress or oak.

Cheers!