I have a 1974 Aquasport 170 that my father recently game me. It is in pretty good shape, but I've decided to refurbish a few things and spruce it up a little.
It has the full bow rail. Some of the brackets and elbows are cracked, so I have decided to replace them. I was able to remove the bow rail from the boat. However, I cannot get the elbows to slide off of the rail. They will not slide past the bend that goes down toward the boat. I guess I could straighten the bend and then try to bend it back when I put the new elbows on. However, I'm worried about fatiguing the rail. Another option is to cut the rail up towards the front of the bow. The elbows would slide right off, but the rail would not longer be one piece. I've seen some pictures of Aquasports where the rails end up towards the front of the bow, basically two side rails. I'm wondering if that was the original design, or if they ran into the same dilemma that I have. If I cut the rail, I guess I could reattach the rail point using the elbows as a junction, but it doesn't seem like one set screw would have enough holding power.
Your suggestions/advice is welcome.
