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Welcome aboard Whaler Central...

It's hard to tell you what you should do to your Whaler, I tend to be a traditionalist to a certain extent.

Here is my two cents... If you have small children, then a bow rail is definately a plus. If you don't have children than I would leave the bow rail off. Again, just my two cents...

If you decide to add the bow rail, you will want to make sure all holes in the glass are caulked with a marine grade sealant. I use and I know a lot of folks here use products from 3M. My caulk of choice is 3M 5200. Not cheap, but I don't like to take chances.

Hope this helps, Norm

PS. The fewer holes you have in your hull, the less likely you are to have water intrusion inside the hull. Make sure you take a look at the bronze tube in the transom. They will, after years of service deteriorate and allow water to enter the foam inside the hull.