Here's the problem, the missing paint clearly shows where the anchor rode and bridle have worried on the stem. The good news is that the missing paint shows exactly how long the new stainless guard needs to be.
Nellie's new $380 stainless stem cover was made from three pieces and welded together. The curvature was gotten by first making a pattern for the port and starboard side pieces. The front piece was then screwed to the stem and the side pieces tack welded to it. Part of the finish work included filling in the the temporary holes in the front piece and drilling permanent mounting holes in each side piece. We elected to go with less than a highly polished finish the thinking being that scratches in the stem were inevitable.
The bottom edge of the stainless guard was glassed in with 1708 leaving no exposed edges on which the anchor or chain could catch.
The new boot stripe and stainless stem guard.
We've used the stem guard for six years and it is working well. If I had it to do over again there are some changes I'd make. The fiberglass stem is curved but Nellie's stem guard was made with right angles. A stem guard that conformed to the curves of the fiberglass underneath it would be a step up in both fit and finish. The void between Nellie's stainless stem and the fiberglass fills with water. We added a drain hole in the bottom of the stem. A better solution would have been to fill the space with a bedding compound. A screwless mounting system may result in a better look too. Perhaps the ideal stem guard would be curved to perfectly fit the fiberglass beneath it and be attached with a bedding/mounting material that would both seal out water and hold the guard in place.
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