Anyone know a source for new teak grab rails for the exterior on the cabin top?
Any help appreciated…
Cheers, Gary Forster Aloki / 30329
They are a very easy job for any decent woodworker if you can’t find them.
Paul M
NS30U #211, Sandpiper
Cowichan Bay, B.C.
I assume you mean an exact replacement for a NS 30?? Where does the boat lie, Gary??
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Local chandlery has boxes of them in different sizes… and eye watering prices for a bit of teak and some woodwork.
Brian
SV Serenity
Nonsuch Nereus #003
Pax River, MD
Back when our boats were built there were manufacturers who mass produced teak parts like this. One I remember was H&L Woodworking. Production builders would often buy all their teak bits from these suppliers. Custom builders made them on site.
H&L sold things like cabinet doors already mounted and hinged to frames that just dropped into a hole cut to receive them, as well as the usual pin rails, hand grabs, hand rails, etc.
Gary - if you are willing to forgo teak, you can ship your handrails to PlasTeak in Ohio and they will duplicate them. To save on shipping, you can cut them in half (they lengthen them by the amount the cut takes out), but you will still pay through the nose to have the finished ones sent to you. I don’t recall the cost. My wife and I considered doing this and have color samples if you are in the 'hood (or I may be out your way at some point in the near future). What yard are you at this winter? We were going to pick-up the finished handrails when visiting family, but Covid derailed the handrail trip.
lloyd herman
Rendezvous, 30U
Port Washington, NY
Following up on Paul’s comment, I you do decide to follow the DIY route, Don Casey’s book “This Old Boat” has a good description of a simple process to make grab rails. I could not find replacements for NS30 rails a couple of years ago, so built them myself using this method (and I have very moderate to low woodworking skills).
Mike
NS30 #26
Port Moody BC
Prices like this are hard not to look at when the required teak ~1”x6”x8’ at my local supplier would cost ~$175CAD.
Trouble is getting the right spacing for the screw locations. Might be worth checking with them. Otherwise it’s the $175 and a half day’s work with basic tools.
Has anyone gone the stainless replacement route? I’d be interested in sources and approximate costs.
Chad Demarest
bluebird
'81 Nonsuch 30C
Sagamore Beach, MA
1/2 a day! Paul, either you work long days or very fast. It would take me at least 2 days to get the holes in the wrong location.
Mark Powers
Just took me a full day to get my old ones off.
Terry & Clarise
nonsuch30U@gmail.com
#404 Toronto 647-856-0377
That would be a much more ideal replacement.
Howard Wright
26C Merrythought
Friday Harbor WA
Just talking about cutting and shaping them Mark,…… and everybody is good at something. Im still not sure I know the difference between a tort and a tart.
Well Paul, a “Tort” from my legal friends is “a civil wrong that causes the claimant harm” and a Tart is “a woman who has many partners”.
I know, O know, but I had to ask. To me, growing up where German was probably the second language (or maybe Dutch or Italian was the second), a Torte is a cake, and a Tart is like a cake that doesn’t rise, like a lemon-filled delicious goodie.
What did I know?? Obviously, another reason why I’ve been always 100% wrong for decades.
My apologies for the tort remark. It was aimed at Mark P. who is of the lawyer persuasion. 
In an earlier post, Lloyd Herman mentioned using PlasTeak to duplicate your existing handrails.
I’ve also done that, on my previous Nonsuch, but followed a cheaper route because shipping them your existing rails for duplication is not their only service.
They offer semi-custom handrails 7/8 in Wide at $1.25 per inch, and 1 3/8in Wide at $1.85 per inch: https://www.plasteak.com/plasteak-recycled-plastic-products/custom-boat-trim
This picture from their website shows a sample. When ordering, you fill out a form in which you specify the height, overall length, length of each arch, and size of the “feet”.
My original rail measured 7/8th diameter, but I went with the 1 and 3/8th inch rail and made it a bit higher because I felt doing so provided a sturdier hand grip and a better foot brace if up on the cabintop.
The original rail was screwed in from beneath with no backing plate or fender washers, using square-head screws rather than Philips or slotted. Although this had clearly worked for 37 years, I felt it was safer to drill countersunk holes through the rail, covered with bungs, and through-bolt them with fender washers underneath.
PlasTeak is much more flexible than wood, which meant bending the new rail to match the positioning of the old one was a piece of cake.
I’ve attached a picture of the boat, showing the grabrails and the eyebrow (separate project) both redone in PlasTeak material. The boat pictured is Solar Wind, N26C #143, which I sold in October when I bought my current boat.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
P.S. For the record, all I know is that a “retort” is a clever remark, which I continually aspire and fail to produce, while a “retart” is a day-old pastry.
Would one of these not work?
https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/departments/hand-rails-%7CTE%7CHND.html
Good luck,
John Hinman
N30U #351, Larkspur
Brooklin, ME
Wow, I didn’t expect so many comments, thank you all !
Lloyd, very interesting possibility! When do you expect to have them and what was the cost? Wintering in OB at the YC at his winter on the hard. Maybe we’ll plan a meet (spelled “beer”wrong, sorry) to discuss, thnx!
Chad’s idea of SS was of interest as well so I wrote Klaco Marine in Canada 
as they made most of not all the SS parts on many a Nonsuch. Imagine , no more wood care ? I’ll report what I learn back.
Best, Gary , Aloki
If you want to do your own stainless, Suncor and Whitecap make stainless rail fittings for a range of tube thicknesses, and there are lots of places you can buy them and matching tubes. These would allow you to make the length whatever you want and place the feet as needed.
For examples to look at, but by no means the only place to buy look at: https://www.defender.com/search.html?q=handrail+fittings&x=0&y=0&productFilter=category%3A7%2F8%20Inch%20Rail%20Fittings%3B%3Bcategory%3A1%20Inch%20Rail%20Fittings
There might be some challenges bending the tubes to match the curve on the deck, but it’s probably manageable.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
Heard back from Klako Marine. Comments as follows,
Couple notes on handgrasps.
- Prefer to have a standoff ‘every other’ vs the teak. Find that too many SS standoffs are not aesthetically pleasing and a lot of warpage due to welding.
- Can match holes to existing +/-0.25" (usually within 1/8")…note that when you remove the teak, you may notice the actually holes arent always the exact same spacing
- SS Handgrasps are all 1" tube and 316L Mirror Polish (same as Bruckmann ones you noted)
- I can weld SS threaded studs (male) on the bottoms of the standoffs… or have female threaded holes. Warning, female version is very tricky to install Let me know overall length of the handles and number of standoffs, from there I can quote you a price.
I’ll follow up as i Learn more, best, Gary / Aloki