Removing 'waves' in the rub rail?

[SilentSeven]

The PO gifted me with some dock bumps in the rub rail on my 2004 Nautique 206 Limited. You can see an example in the linked pictures.

Is there a way to remove these? I would think if I pulled the center piece, loosen the screws a bit and then tap the rail back in place, that might do the trick? Has anyone tackled this? Suggestions?

[MTRBTR]

Maybe you could pull the whole thing off heat it up in the sun and re-stretch it as you put it back on?

[NautiqueJeff]

I fix this issue on lots of my boats that I restore. The issue is that when the boat rubs up against something, it can bend the screws holding the rubrail to the deck/hull. You can pull the insert, remove the screws, straighten the rubrail, and replace with new, straight screws, or on waves that aren't too bad, you can even just whack the rubrail back into place with a rubber mallet without taking it apart. The rubber mallet method works most of the time for me.

[SilentSeven]

Thanks Jeff...appreciate the pragmatic experience. I think I'd prefer to avoid pulling the insert if possible.

It looks like part of the problem is the insert has been squooshed in a bit from the impact. When you straighten the rails, do you relieve that in any way? I could envision some local heat with a heatgun followed by some careful prying work (screwdriver or similar) to pull the insert forward. Then whack it a bit with a mallet to straighten the horizontal line.

[NautiqueJeff]

The insert isn't bad at all to remove or replace. Just pop the cap off the end of the rubrail and pry the end out with a screwdriver if necessary. Then just pop it back in to the proper depth.