Bow Repair - rubbed through from roller

[acevedor2]

Hey guys - took my Bayliner 185 out for the first time in 2 years today. She ran great but I noticed that the gel coat was missing from the bow where the roller is. The roller is very rough, not smooth. This most likely happened when I took it cross country in the winter of 2012. My guess is it is from the salt/sand because it definitely wasn't like that when I loaded it on the trailer last time. But as I've mentioned, I did not get a chance to take it out last year so this is the first time I have seen it.

My question is how hard is this to repair and how hard is it? Also, do I have to remove it from the trailer to repair, or can I remove the ratchet/roller and repair with that off? Thanks!

 

[Woodonglass]

Eazy Smeazy. Get a GelCoat repair kit. Sand with 60 grit, Wash Well with Acetone. Mix your gelcoat to match your's as close as you can, use a foam brush and brush on 5-6 coats. You want it thick because you will be sanding it and polishing it to blend it. Tape some plastic over the repair when done cuz gelcoat needs to be blocked from air to cure properly. In about 2 hours remove the plastic and start with 320 grit and work your way to 1000 grit to polish the gel coat and fair it to the rest of the hull.This entire repair should take about 4 hours. You can do it right where it sits. No Problemo!!!!

 

[acevedor2]

Thanks! How do I get to that area though? Right now it is tightened up to the roller. if I loosen the strap, do I just try and push it backwards off of the roller? Sorry if these are really newb questions. I certainly appreciate the help!

 

[sphelps]

Does the roller have a removable bracket . It should un bolt some kind of way so you can get to the damage .. Or slide the boat back some on the trailer ..

 

[JASinIL2006]

Also, have you considered a BowShield to protect your boat from the roller? Pretty easy to install.

 

[kjsAZ]

+ 1 to the gel-coat repair kit. I wouldn't try to move the boat back unless you hook it up to a vehicle. Only a bit to far back and the tongue will go up fast......
I'd also replace the bow roller if it's rough.....

 

[redneck joe]

and always strap down your bow tight to trailer to minimize abrasion

 

[GT1000000]

All of the above^^^^...be sure to hitch your boat up to the tow vehicle before pushing the boat back on the trailer to effect the repairs...

 

[acevedor2]

Thanks for all of the great replies everyone! I appreciate it. I do intend on replacing the roller since I'll have to remove it in order to effect the repair. Once I've repaired it, Iam definitely interested in those BowShields. Had never seen them before. Anyone have any experience with them? Any idea how to tell what size works for which size boat? Mine is an 18' Bayliner. Thanks again!

 

[JASinIL2006]

I just installed a BowShield on my boat, so it's too early to see how it holds up. I trailer a lot... several 1600 mile trips per year, plus two-hour trips on weekends to nearby rivers. No matter how tight I crank my bow to the stop, the winch stand roller still rubs on the hull.

The BowShield is pretty solid. It's made of a fairly heavy piece of stainless steel; in fact, it's heavy enough that it takes some work to get it bent to fit your hull closely. The adhesive provided seems to be more than sufficient to hold the thing on. The only addition I made to the normal installation procedure was to seal the edges with a small bead of 3M 5200. (The adhesive provided with the shield leaves some gaps between the fiberglass and the shield, and I didn't like how that looked; a bead of 5200, smoothed out with my finger and then cleaned up with acetone, looks much nicer.)

I think the BowShield I have is a medium and it's just the right size to protect the fiberglass from the bowstop. I received my BowShield as a Father's Day gift so I don't know where it was purchased (maybe from GatorGuard directly?). I just did a search again on iBoats and it doesn't look like they carry them.

Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[Woodonglass]

You can also use a PreVal sprayer, (Lowes $10 bucks), to spray your gelcoat on.
Keel Guards are Kinda pricey. A couple of our members have experimented with taping off the keel at the bow and applying Truck Bedliner which gives the appearance of a keel guard and the extra protection of the Bedliner material. Have NOT heard the results.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Those Preval sprayers are nifty! I haven't sprayed gel yet, but they worked great for paint with hardener added in.

I think the bow shield is $30-35 depending on whether you get the small or large. It looks pretty nice. I'm not sure I"d want to paint bedliner on my boat in such a visible spot. I almost used bedliner instead of a KeelGuard, but I decided I didn't want to be the guinea pig. I haven't seen anyone post pics of how the bedliner looks, especially after use. Makes me wonder if it's not working out so well...

 

[redneck joe]

I crank up to the bow stop and also add vertical pressure with a ratchet strap to the trailer. Look in my sig pic and you can see the orange strp.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you have to thin the gel a bit to get it to come out the preval sprayer. I would brush or roll it on and spray PVA with the preval sprayer.

 

[Woodonglass]

Well, I found the guy that sprayed the bedliner on his keel. He has NOT splashed his boat yet, but you can see how he did it and what it looks like here...
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...-rebuild/page2

by the way, you can buy bedliner in White so it would blend in and be hardly noticeable if you don't like the look but once it's in the water...only the Fish will know!!!!

 

[acevedor2]

I crank up to the bow stop and also add vertical pressure with a ratchet strap to the trailer. Look in my sig pic and you can see the orange strp.

I like the idea of the strap. I think I might try that. Gonna order the gel coat kit today. Think I'll probably try the bow shield as well, but I want to fix it first. I don't like the idea of installing the bowshield and knowing it is still messed up underneath