Replacing the Rub Rail Aluminum Extrusion

[TBOT422]

Has anyone had any experience replacing the rub rail aluminum extrusion? We have about 10 feet that was damaged when hitting a piling. My first thought was to just replace the entire original 20 foot section and the 3 foot section near the transom. Upon closer inspection, I found there are 1/4" machine screws 2-5/8" long on 16 inch centers going through the rail, and (3) 1" #10 wood screws between each machine screw. Warren Pandy tells me the machine screws are actually the hull to deck thru bolts and I would need access to the nuts on the inside to properly reinstall them. Warren says the deck goes on after all the interior cabinets are installed, so the nuts "should not be too much trouble (except for things like AC ducting, etc)". Yeah, right!

I would appreciate any input anyone may have that has had the pleasure of undertaking this task.

Thanks

[yodagwb]

I think you will find you have to remove the galley cabinets, at least that's what they had to do in mine when they went back to install the rub rail thru bolts which were never installed in the holes which caused much leakage. The AC duct is a real PITA in places.