Walk Around Bow Rail

[lazy grady]

4/8/24 Relative to my 1992 GW Explorer Walk Around 24', thinking I might reduce bow rails to say 4" to 6 " in height? My thinking is this will eliminate or help eliminate rails hitting while docking as well as provide for no need to provide a gate at the bow sprit given I am mounting a trolling motor? We seldom fish or ride at the bow.

Concern is astetics? Is there a GW Model or other boat model similar to the Explorer with low rails?

 

[DennisG01]

Aesthetics is, of course, all in the eye of the beholder. So it comes down to your perception of aesthetics vs function. Personally, I value the function/safety over aesthetics. But this is your boat so my opinion doesn't count! That said, I don't think a 6" rail is going to be of any safety value - in that case, I would probably just remove it all together.

If it's like my boat, Grady didn't use a more custom, welded bow rail setup. The welded setup is nicer - but the "erector set" setup that Grady uses is easier to remove. Remove it completely - see what you think

 

[Ekea]

id more or less have to agree with dennis but with a minor difference. either keep it as is or go down to "grab rail" height. it might be nice to still have something to grab onto from time to time.

doing this would probably eliminate the ability for someone to ever safely ride or walk up front while under way

 

[seasick]

What is the reason why you hit the rails while docking? Do you have a fixed dock? I had a similar situation where the hull would 'slide' under the dock edge at lower tides. It also rode higher than the pilings when a super tide occured. The fix was to mount two 2 x 6 8 foot planks onto two pilings about 12 feet apart and edging the vertical edges of the planks with vinyl dock material. That worked out very well.

 

[Fishtales]

The rail system is pieced so you could do so. I like the idea of safety - especially if you have children, new boaters or just new to your boat boaters.

 

[SeanC]

Aesthetics is, of course, all in the eye of the beholder. So it comes down to your perception of aesthetics vs function. Personally, I value the function/safety over aesthetics. But this is your boat so my opinion doesn't count! That said, I don't think a 6" rail is going to be of any safety value - in that case, I would probably just remove it all together.

If it's like my boat, Grady didn't use a more custom, welded bow rail setup. The welded setup is nicer - but the "erector set" setup that Grady uses is easier to remove. Remove it completely - see what you think

I think at 6" the safety aspect of the bow rail has been removed. I would also look at removing the bow rail completely and see how it looks.

 

[Hookup1]

I think at 6" the safety aspect of the bow rail has been removed. I would also look at removing the bow rail completely and see how it looks.

I agree with SeanC - at 6" the rail is functionally useless and may be a trip hazard. Leave it be and put a "gate" for trolling motor or eliminate it all-together. Mine is intact. I think it's a useful safety feature that also looks good on my boat.