How do you make a rail?

Hey I was thinking of making a rail over the winter while I am not riding. How would you make an easy beginner rail. Thanks for your help!

floating or permanent?

permanent

actually i built one this morning.
here is a link to the concept, but i altered it a little
http://www.wakeskating.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14031

if you look at my pics, i made 2 8 foot rails because it makes it easier to transport. i have 1 2x6 laying flat and then 1 2x4 screwed onto each side of it screwed in vertically. then 2 pieces of trex on the top and screwed down.
the pipe is then screwed into the plate you can see in the second image. and to connect the 2 rail sections together, im going to put another 2X6 in between the two sections and screw them into place. to put it in the ground, you screw all of your support poles into the base plates, then place the rail in the water, start hammering one side in and work your way from one side to the other so it all goes in equal. and level.
where im going to be putting this in there is a tide so i have to pull the rail out at least once during the day and move it out further into the water, to move it, i plan to unscrew all the poles from the plates with vice grips, then remove the rail from the top so i have just the poles sticking out of the water. then using the vice grips, grip onto it and twist and pull up at the same time.
the link i posted has ALOT of information throughout that thread. i just made what i screw my trex onto a little differently, it will make it stronger, and this way i can connect as many sections as i want together.

you can buy everything at home depot, although we bought the wood and trex from our local lumber yard due to the price being cheaper. but we bought the poles and the base plates(no idea what they are called, sorry!) from home depot. the poles came in 10 foot lenghths are 1 inch in diamter, they where $20 each, and i cut them in half so i have 4 5 foot sections. which is all i need for my spot. we bought 4 of the plates they screw into ($7 each), but odds are i am only going to have 3 vertical supports for the 16 foot rail i built.

if you have any questions, feel free to ask. ill try my best to answer



(Message edited by lfrider92 on December 21, 2009)

how much did it cost for all the metrials and how long is it?
Thanks,
Talon

so are you hammering on the trex?

it depends how long you want to make it what the total cost will be. along with how long you need the poles.

its 20$ per 10 foot pole
7$ per flange
and im not sure about wood or trex prices. my dad put it on his account at the lumber yard

and the one above is only 16 feet.
ive been told for a 16 footer though it runs about 100$ its a little pricey. but rock solid when built right, and pretty easy to move around

and you can use a rubber mallet to hammer on the trex so it doesnt hurt it (but that would take forever)
im going to put a block of wood on top and use a regular sledge

and mind you, i got 2 ten foot poles and cut them in half because where i winch its shallow.

if your in deeper water it will cost you more..

and if your trying to go cheaper yet, you dont have to use actual trex, home depot has their own "trex" and it slides with no problem and costs a bit less

ok and yeah im think about 32ft i wana have like a rail jam at my house with some friends and i wana make it not to short

32ft is way too short unless you're skatin'.

Minimum wakeboard rail length in my opinion is for any kind of fun is 50ft... and thats still a little short IMO.

Our 88 footer:


(Message edited by xbones on December 22, 2009)

^^^It doesn't look like you'll be moving that rail, looks good though.

Agreed for the most part that 32 feet is shorter, but it's good for inclines. 40 feet is a good length for a flat bar.

looks like im not doing that plan haha i dont have that kinda money and u got any plans and a list of materials and cost i live in wa so during winter its a good project when cant make it up to the mountain

32 ft is plenty long to have fun. Id like a nice projects-grade 80ft slider just as much as the next guy, but I have fun on a 15 or 20 ft flat bar and a 10ft incline

This one is two 20 foot pieces of 8" pvc drain pipe. We slow down to about 17-18mph when hitting rails or sliders, but even at that speed you're traveling 26 feet per second, so 40 feet goes by real quick.
A 16 foot long rail would go by in a blink of an eye...