Hey guys!
Some of you know I just fell in love with an abused '98 ZX180c. I've always been a sucker for an underdog. Well, one of the things missing was his bow pad. Not even a torn or worn out piece was left. So I did what a lot of guys do and ordered a 12x24 inch section of super rough&tough Gator Skinz material from here: http://www.gator-guards.com/product/gatorskinz/
So step 1, order some gator skinz material.
Then I had to make a template because at $20 bucks a section I didn't want to have to order another one to cover up my mistakes. I started with cardboard. Easy to cut, not so easy to trace the outline of the mounting depression.
So I used the cardboard as a rough outline and switched to some of the kids' posterboard. I traced the cardboard I made earlier to downsize the big block of posterboard to a more manageable size.
Then I confiscated my daughter's pencil and used the old "rub the dents" trick to highlight the ridge under the posterboard.
That gave me a decent template to cut out. So I did. And it fit perfectly!
For the transferring the pattern to the GatorSkinz part I tried to use a welder's pencil (white soapstone thing) to draw on it, but it wasn't quite doing the stuff. My 4 yr old was playing with chalk nearby on the driveway so I had a brain blast. Tada! Perfect cutting lines thanks to Crayola!
Next I took some rubbing alcohol and cleaned off the boat where the pad was going to stick, let it dry (takes just a few seconds), and I applied my new bow non skid step pad to my boat. Hunky dorey
And finally, I laid a bag of cement on the pad to hold it down and provide the needed pressure to get good adhesion. If you don't have a bag of cement, you can use a bag of sand or heck even a few gallon Ziplock bags filled with rocks or dirt would work. You need to leave it on there for 24 hours though, or you won't get good stick from the GatorSkinz.
And that's it! Enjoy your new ultra tough Gator Skinz branded bow step!
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