The original mahogany rub rails and toe rails were in surprising decent condition given the age of this Cape Dory Typhoon, yet voids and gouges existed across their surfaces, and given the owner's desire for a freshening up, I took the opportunity to remove the rails. It's quite possible that the new rails will also be mahogany.
I used an assortment of tools to remove the rails: center-punch, a philips and a flathead screw driver, a box cutter knife, and an impact wrench for the most stubborn of adversary. My first step was to snap a few dimples into the bungs - a wooden plug made of the same species of wood, covering the head of the fastener. With a drywall screw in hand, I inserted the tip into the dimple and drove the screw into the bung. As the screw began to bottom-out onto the head of the fastener securing the rail, it would drive the bung upward and typically breaking it apart. With the box cutter, or razor knife, I carefully chipped away and dug out the remnants of the bung, as well as the sealant used to bed the bung in place. With most of the fasteners, I was able to back them out with a flathead screwdriver, leaving only a couple that required the impact driver's hammering action to dislodge the screw. The fasteners were set approximately every 8 to 9", and were 1.25" in length on the rub rail and 1.5" in length on the toe rail; roughly 44 screws per rail.
With both the rub rail and toe rail removed, I cleaned most of the old sealant off the topsides and deck, and then sanded through to 80-grit to bring the surface back to original gelcoat. The rail will serve as templates for fabricating new rails - complete with location of deck drainage, jib sheet track, and overall number and spacing for fasteners. The old holes will be filled with thickened epoxy and sanded fair, bringing the deck and topsides back to a blank canvas. The rails were safely tucked away in the shop.

Total Hrs: 5.75