Getting the spray rails to conform to the side on the hull can be a bit tricky. You cannot pre-drill both sections of the rail while they are in the flat condition put screws in and then try to bend them and make them conform to the hull shape because the screws won't allow the sections of the rail to slip  and take on the shape of the hull.   I pre-drilled the outermost rail section with a Kreg  stepped drill, this leaves a countersink where you can put in a plug after the screws are removed.   I also used long Kreg screws because they have a smooth shank toward the head this allows the screw to penetrate the hull side and pull the rail tightly into the plywood.   Start at the transom and get your screws in, this is a flat section and will hold tightly as you pull the front in to the hull.   If your rails are not tight now, I don't know of any way other than to start over,  as I assume your epoxy is  cured and no amount of pressure is going to change the shape of the laminated rail.   You may damage the plywood getting the rails off but this is easily corrected with thickened epoxy used as a filler.  

Hope this helps, Jack

It's the path of least resistance, but one solution would be simply to fill the gap between hull and spray rail with thickened epoxy.  No loss in strength or function that way.  The screws become entombed, but since they're surrounded by epoxy, they aren't going to rust and harm your finish.

   Thanks to both of you.  The problem with the filling the gap with thickened epoxy solution is that there is polyethelene plastic under the spray rails now so they are only attached by the remaining screws.  Maybe the solution is to pry them out, repair the hull damage with thickened expoxy, shape the rails and then reattach, filling the gap as you have suggested.  I could even make the forward rail section have a lower profile to compensate for the extra height created by the gap.  Thoughts?

Kendall

Kendall,

I'm not clear from your post if you've already epoxied the rails.  I'm assuming that you have not.  If you have, I don't have any helpful suggestions.  When we built my Peeler Skiff, About Time, we installed the spray rails in steps:

1. Drilled holes (slightly larger than the screws) for drywall screws in the inner strip and attached it to the hull to confirm that the screws could pull the wood tightly to the hull.
2. We backed out the screws and thoroughly waxed them so that they wouldn't get epocied in place.
3. We applied thickened epoxy to the wood strip and acrewed it back to the hull.
4. After the epoxy had thoroughly set (waited a day) we removed the screws.
5. Drilled holes (slightly larger than the screws) for drywall screws in the outer strip and attached it to the inner strip to confirm that the screws could pull the wood tightly to the inner strip.
6. We backed out the screws and thoroughly waxed them so that they wouldn't get epocied in place.
7. We applied thickened epoxy to the outer strip and acrewed it back to the inner strip.
8. After the epoxy had thoroughly set (waited a day) we removed the screws.
9. Used a rasp and sander to shape and smooth the spray rail.

The drywall screws were long enough to penetrate the thickness of the hull, but only one one each side was outside the bouyancy chambers.  As I was going to paint the inside anyway, it didnt worry me.

The problem with pre-drilling the screw holes through both layers of wood, is that the bend pulls the holes out of alignment, effectively locking the screws in place.  But I'm sure you now know this.  Fortunately, my grandfather warned me about it 60+ years ago.

As to the damaged screws, I'd Google "tool to remove stripped screws".  This is apparently not an uncommon problem :).

Wishing you the best of luck,

Dick

Kendall,

I guess my login had expired while I was writing the response.

Anyway, here are pictures of my Peeler, About Time.

Let us know what you end up doing.

Regards,

Dick

���I noticed you trailer youre skiff with a mini. Do you think i could manage with a civic? I recently purchased a carolina dory about the same size with a 25hp evinrude.

   Maybe too late now but starting from the bow end to stern would have helped. I had an assistant help with the alignment and he could easily lever the rails against the first screws at the bow end. You might consider trying to get a hack saw blade between the rails and hull to release the rails, patch the holes and start over from the bow end with help. The finished rails spring back some but go on easy and fit tight start from bow end. I had a 1/16 inch gap at the forward end the rest was tight to hull.