Rub Rail Repair

[JB134]

Got a small chunk (approx 1/4 inch) of rubber damage in my rub rail from kissing the dock during some strong winds. It’s strictly cosmetic and too small to consider splicing in a new little section. New boat and just thought I’d ask the brain trust here if anyone has successfully filled in and repair anything similar. Thanks

[jworks]

With a place that small here's what I'd do. Look around and get a tube of caulking (or silicone perhaps) that says "paintable" and "sandable. Fill in that spot carefully and lightly sand it down even with a hand sanding pad (not a electric sander). Do this slowly till its blended in as rounded and as close as you can get to shape of the rub rail. Once you're happy with the shape of it you could use black magic marker like a Sharpie to color it. Its only a 1/4" spot so if the marker doesn't match up perfectly nobody's going to notice a 1/4" piece anyway. I would probably think some type of caulk would be better than the silicone. If the color stands out too much (which I doubt) give it time and the sun may take care of that. If in the end you're not pleased with that you can always buy a piece of matching rubrail, cut out a 1/2" or 1" section with a straight edge and a box opener (razor edge); then cut a matching piece off the new rubrail and pop it in carefully with a flathead screwdriver and small hammer tapping just hard enough to get it in. I had a similar issue many years ago. This next thing may not work nowadays as materials may have changed, but I'm thinking it will. I just remembered, I had a small bad spot like yours, but it was probably 50 years ago. At the transom, where the rubrail ends I loosened the screw holding it in place. Then I took a flathead screwdriver and just inched the rubrail forward and stretched it little by little till the piece from the transom end overlapped the small damaged piece. Then I just cut it with a knife to match up. Yes, there was a line there where the two pieces met up but that was no big deal; ragged eyesore was gone, and no visible space was between the two pieces. After all was done put the screw back in the end at the transom.

[Bass Cat Boats]

Use black windshield adhesive and once it cures you can wet sand it and patch it in. Acetone will give the black urethane some gloss and you can tweak it, even hand buffing if you want.

[JB134]

All different and good ideas. Thanks I’ll give it a try