Adding a Hard Railing

We extended the cockpit railing forward to the gates on both sides.  We used 1" stainless steel tubing from Sail Rite (click here) and Bimini fittings from Marine Part Depot (click here).  I had to cut off the loops that connected the lifelines to the aft railing.  I cut them off with a hacksaw and filed the nubs down smooth.  For the top of the stanchion I could use  a top slide (p/n MPD 462) that slips over the tubing.  For the other connections I used hinged rail mounts (MPD 491) that clamp over the tubing.  On each end of the 1" tubing that made up the rails I used top caps (MPD 171).  The top caps have a single finger that fits between the two fingers on each rail mount.  All these fittings are held in place with set screws and I used Loctite 242 on these to keep them snug.

The top slide on the stanchion had to be modified to hold the gate section of lifeline.  The gate comes with a fitting made for swaging onto wire rope.  I was planning to just cut this off and slip a bolt through the hole in the fitting that would thread onto a hole on the top cap.  When I looked at the swaged fitting I realized it was threaded on the end that connects to the gate.  I cut off the swaged cap and then found that the threaded part had the same threads as the set screw on the top cap.  Perfect!  It all went together like it was made to be, even though all the parts came from different companies.  The only drilling and tapping I had to do was for a new set screw location on the side of the top cap.

I also ended up adding two upright supports between the upper and lower rails 21.5" apart using 1" T fittings (MDP 474A) that slipped over the rails.  These help to tie in the look of the side rails with the existing railing at the stern and add needed rigidity.  Now if I need to remove the side rails for any reason it can be easily done by removing four screws and the whole assembly comes off in one piece.  This was the main reason I went with assembled rails fittings instead of having it all welded in.

For us the real advantage to having a hard railing on the sides of the cockpit is that it provides a convenient mounting location for our grill and fish cleaning table.  We can sit on the cockpit coaming while cooking or cleaning fish.  We used to mount these at the railing beside the aft seat in the railing.  It was uncomfortable working off the side or stern.  This new location gives us much more comfort and space to work in.  Big improvement!