The handrails will be aluminum, powder coated (if I can afford it). I have gone back and forth on priming them with epoxy primer and then painting or powder coating. Powder coating will give a long term finish I won't need to touch for years (low maintenance). The rails will be temporarily mounted, and once back at my shop, all holes will be over bored, then filled with epoxy before being bored to screw size with the rails then being permanently mounted over some 3M caulking. The 3M will prevent the corrosion of the aluminum at the mounting points. Side note being that saltwater being allowed to access the aluminum between the gunnels and the mounting bases in the form of a thin film expedites the pitting and breakdown of aluminum. By ensuring there is no airspace, you eliminate the breakdown.
I want the railings to be as high as the rails in the cockpit. My reasoning after looking at hundreds of boats are simple, short railings are pointless, if they are say knee height, they are only good if you are crawling around up there, and in that event you will be wishing they were of useful height. Having gone forward on the Paula J while offshore, short rails will not cut it for me, even on a nice day. The other reason is fishing related; I. E. jigging for tuna. Having a rail to lean on helps to keep your balance while focusing on fish, not to mention opening up the bow for more fishing space.
Of coarse the primary reasoning is for safety when anchoring, but as stated above, it also transforms the forward deck into usable space.