Morgan 30 hull to deck connection

[bluewaterryder]

I have a 1970 Morgan 30 and am in the process of replacing the rubrail which runs the length of the boat; both my toerail and rubrail are through bolted and it looks as if the toerail is part of the structural integrety of the hull to deck connection. The area where the rubrail is bolted through appears to be glassed, but it's hard to tell, does anyone know of the structural setup for the hull to deck connection on this model? I would like to sail during the milling process but didn't want to take a chance on any structural damage. Thanks, Jerry

[Leither]

Hi Jerry

I have a 1971 Morgan 30 which I bought recently. I have an owners' manual and the section on the hull/deck joint states that the joint is formed by a chemical/mechanical combination. In practice, this means that a chemical bond is formed first using an (unspecified) jointing compound and then the hull and deck are screwed together using stainless self-tappers. The toe-rail does not form part of this process, but presumably its fixings add to the strength.

My boat has no rub-rail, but I cannot imagine that removing the toe-rail or the rub-rail would affect the integrity of the joint (usual cautions apply!).

Good luck

Stuart