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I am thinking of reducing the height of the bow railing on my 1974 Outrage 21. For the most part it seems to be a fairly straight forward project. I believe all but the aft verticals can be cut from the top. The aft vertical is my dilemma as I do not want to cut it as it is one solid piece with the horizontal ( I think). It could be cut from the bottom but there are some configuration issues with the contour of the interior wall and the shaped vertical. This might not make sense but to those that own this model boat but would appreciate any input. Thanks.

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Anyone have thoughts on this inquiry?

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I have a Ribside 21 Outrage, with same bow rail I believe. To lower the rail, perhaps to the same height as the low-profile bow raill offered on the Ribsides, the aft rail stantion (the one with the curve), has to be cut from the vertical portion above the below deck bends. I would cut the rail where the cut will be covered by the slip fitting, where the rail penetrates the hull cap. You can then cut whatever length you want off the upper, straight part, and then "hotdog" sleeve it back together. The cut will be covered by the slip top cap fitting.

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Finnegan: Thanks for responding. I was quite sure you would have a solution and the hot dog inside the through fitting is the only thing I could come up with short of reforming the tubing. I reached out to Chuck Bennett who indicated that the 1974 rail was one piece where earlier outrage rails were multiple pieces. At the expense of originality, I have contemplated lowering the rail for some time as it just looks too high to me. In the same vane I recently removed the splashwell railing as I find it extremely inconvenient and useless. I have ordered a Birdsall seat back which will give be better cruising seating and is removable when not needed. Thanks for your input and be well.

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I reconfigured my rails. Exactly like Finnegan posted. Do "dry fit" and look at reveal and cut long and whittle down. The 7/8" stainless rail is a very tight "hot dog" size for the 1". Very pricey mistake (not just materials but time) if you miss by a little.
Garris

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gchuba: Thanks for your input also. Couple of questions. How much did you drop the rail? I am thinking 4-5 inches.The aft stantion dictates the maximum reduction due to the stantion radius.I am not looking for the maximum reduction but something like the original equipment option Finnegan mentioned. That looks good to my eye. I am not a big fisherman so the high railing is of little use to me. The aft railing is of no use and is gone. Also you mentioned a 7/8 hot dog for 1" rail. Is that what you uses? And did you tap and through screw the hot dog assembly? Finally-how is the stability?

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I raised mine because mine is a saltwater fishing boat. If lowering, your issues will come with the rail "posts" that are angled. Without seeing exactly what you have and any discoloration or scratches where your "tees/wyes" were originally (because as you lower the whole bow rail wants to slide backward). Your rear mounts stay fixed and an extension goes on the front. It may make the old top rail hard to re-use. Kinda a shot in the dark for true recommendations. I personally would try to keep the boat mounts as is. As you need an extra length do your cuts at the center of the rail fittings. You will need some rail on hand. If my boat....I would lower the set up using the old hardware and design around what makes sense before any cutting. The rail is bendable by hand for soft sweeps. Do so on a big block of wood, go slow using your foot and arms, and keep holding it up to the section you are working at. Once set up use a perma marker (keep several colors available as you will be changing the lay outs ever so slightly). Make sure everything fits before "hotdogging" and scribe a line on the top for the match. I had to file/die grind the interior of the 1" rail for the 7/8" to fit. I found it was better for me to cut the pipe with a cutting blade on my 4" angle grinder than pipe cutter. The pipe cutter kinda pinched the pipe too tight to fit the hot dog. You are going to "persuade" the 7/8" pipe into the 1" so you better be pretty accurate to start. As you bend the pipe it stretches/oblongs so be prepared. Very very tight but no allen screw fittings.....I got a bag of self tapping screws (there is a vendor on this website that has them) and used the fitting's holes as a guide for drilling. If you have the allen screw fittings I would drill out the thread and go with the self tapping screw. Good luck, having it the way you desire is worth the work.
Garris

edit: I reflected a hair and I would guess the mounting furthest away from the bow probably the toughest to duplicate at home. I would tackle the project from that position as my starting point.

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Did some research I thought I would share. First my rail material is 7/8 O.D. not 1". Also the I.D. is 3/4" which fit a hot dog of 3/4" perfectly. Found there are varying tube dimensions for different types of ss tubing. So, hopefully I will not have difficulty fitting the hot dog.

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What is the "height" from start of the rail to bow for the 21' Ribside low profile bow rail?

http://www.whalercentral.com/infusion...r_id=17372

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Having recently spent some time studying a Ribside high profile bow rail, I now believe it cannot simply be cut down to make it the low-profile rail. The curves of all six stantions where they come through the top cap sleeves are too close to the sleeves, and therefore cannot be "hotdog" spliced without the cuts showing 3" above the cap. Also, the forward through hull stantions have a slight bend at the top, in order to fit into the 90 degree tee, so simply cutting them shorter at the top does not work.

I have found that 3/4" aluminum tubing works well as a "hotdog", with one side glued into the SS rail with Gorilla Glue. The other side can be left plain, for later separation if needed. If you use Gorilla Glue on both sides, it is PERMANENT!

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Good info, what is the "height" from start of the rail and height at bow for the 21' Ribside low profile bow rail?

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See the 21 Outrage bow rail download in this link. It gives the height dimensions of the high and low profile rails. It looks like the low rail is 8" shorter than the high.

http://www.whalercentral.com/download...owstart=15

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Yes, that seems to be the case from diagram. 9 1/4 " up to 10 7/8 for the low profile rail and 16 1/2 up to 18 1/2 for the high/std bow rail.

Thanks for the info....

Skip

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Here are some photos of a 21 Outrage Ribside with the low profile bow rail.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/197...-103190005]

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I like the stance and more practical for my needs. My bow rail in its current form is a little too Captain Ahab for my liking/needs. :)

[url]https://forum.ih8mud.com/media/95-bwc-outrage-rail_1.63086/full?d=1511736793
[/url]

I am going to reduce my bow rail height overall to 8"-10"