Building the Taff Rail

September 30, 2019

Having some time in the afternoon, I decided to get started on the taff rail - the aft most deck rail.  I began by templating the form of the deck, where it meets the hull.  The hull-to-deck joint on the Allied 24 consists of the hull with an inward flange and the deck simply placed on top of this flange, and through-bolted with machine screws, washers, and backing nuts.  

I also used the original taff rail as a template, lying it out onto a piece of fresh teak stock.  I used a combination of the original taff rail and the template taken off the aft deck to create a pattern to cut from the new teak board.  Happy with the transferred dimensions onto the new teak, I then cut out the new taff rail with a jigsaw.  I performed a number of fine-tuning techniques to arrive at a product that I was happy with - sanding by hand and tool, and planing by hand.

With the taff rail dimensioned and shaped, I now needed to remove most of the material on the bottom, to a quarter of an inch in depth, leaving a lip on the aft end of the taff rail.  The majority of the taff rail will rest on top of the deck, and the lower hanging lip will tuck tightly against the edge of the deck and the flange of the hull.  The drawing below shows the taff rail, flipped upside down, and its 1/4" lip.  What made this time-consuming and difficult was the compound curvature of the stern deck...but I managed through it.

I had my lovely snap a photo of the fit, as I am using both hands to conform the new taff rail over the stern of the boat - and its compound curve.  The toe rails will run through to the stern of the boat, with the taff rail between the toe rails.  Analogous to "these aren't the droids we're looking for," I say, "the hat he's wearing is not a pink one!"  

Total Time Today: 4 hrs