Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD
Over 20 years ago my boat’s trailer came with a single roller where the bow of the boat snugs up to the winch stand. It never dawned on me there was anything else available until I was helping a friend load his boat and I saw his bow had a pair of “cones” on the outside of the bow roller support. Maybe I’d seen other boat trailers similarly equipped, but I’d not paid attention to them.
What I did pay attention to was how easily, when my friend nosed his boat up to the trailer, the “side-scoops” helped center the boat’s bow perfectly and protected the boat’s hull if (when) the boat was nosed up to the winch stops a bit off center when power-loading. I’ve since learned these cones or scoops are properly called “End Bells,” at least that’s what they were called on the C.E. Smith website where I found a set of bells that fit my trailer.
My original bow roller was made of black rubber and over the years, I’d replaced it as needed with similar rollers. C.E. Smith does offer black rubber End Bells, sold separately, but since my current bow roller was showing some hard use, I decided to get a complete Bow Bell Assembly which includes both the center roller and the end bells. As long as I was replacing everything, I elected to get a blue assembly made of Thermal Plastic Rubber. The price was the same, it dressed up the front of the trailer a bit, and the blue (or other color) thermal plastic is tougher than the black rubber. It makes loading my own boat easier, is easier on the bow of my boat and is something I wish I’d found years earlier.
Check them out at http://www.cesmith.com.
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