Nose Rail - Do We Need It?

[Bob Abelin]

So I was ramp launching my U20 the other day and had a bit of an issue.  The ramp was fairly steep and the nose rail/fairing got caught on the trailer bow roller. No big deal but then I hit a dip in the ramp, the boat bounced and came down hard enough to break the nose rail off.   On inspection it looks like it had been damaged previously and not repaired terribly well.  It wouldn’t be too hard to put it back on and reinforce it so it won’t come off again, but now I’m wondering if I even really it?  It doesn’t seem to serve a purpose.   Should I put it back on or just fair the bow and call it good?

[Bob Abelin]

Here’s the part that came off.

[TimPorter]

Put it back on.

[Dean Nelson]

Damage to the bow can occur when launching the boat if the bow comes slamming down on the roller next to the winch when the bow-eye clears.  A simple solution is to add a roller on the trailer, spaced far enough back such that the hull needs to ride on the bottom roller after the bow-eye clears the top roller.  By the time the hull clears the bottom roller, the bow is far from the top roller.