Finally welded up my bow stop!
Approach similar to many others' seen here and at YJB.
I used 1.5" x 3.0" steel tube with 0.188" wall thickness, bought in a 3 foot section at local steel service center (bought enough to make two braces - just in case
). Made a cardboard template, cut the tube to match the template, de-burred cut tube edges with a pneumatic angle grinder, and used a Miller 480 volt wire welder to first tack then to seam weld in place. Used steel bristle toothbrush-style brush to remove blush rust & otherwise clean up welds and adjacent painted surfaces. Painted with two coats of Rust-Oleum automotive enamel gloss black spray paint.
Seam welded all the way around the new brace at both ends. Seam welded the OE post to the trailer on the hitch end plus heavy tack weld added to both sides. Left the boat end and about 2/3 of both post sides open to allow it to drain.
Total out-of-pocket: just under $30 for the steel...I had the paint from 2012 trailer guides project.
Now, I need to swap out that crappy OE winch for a Fulton F2!
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PS: Mechanic from my plant did the welding - LOL. I can weld a bit, but he is FAR, FAR more skilled than me. Also, I was rushed in spray painting, so the paint didn't turn out quite as nicely as I was hoping. Note - orange flagging is just temporary eye catcher as the trailer is a bit hard to see where it's parked.
