Bow eye in aluminum row boat

[thisusernamevalid]

Hi. I just picked up a 15' aluminum boat. The bow eye is an old rusty eye bolt with a couple of nuts. It's loose and the original mounting hole has become enlarged.

I want to replace with a proper single shank bow eye. It seems there sould be some sort of spacer or filler behind the hull to spread out the contact area and provide a flat land for the nut and washer. Looked around on the net and can't find anything.

I was thinking about using some JB Stick to fill the oversized opening and create a wedge filler inside. Then, tighten down the nut and washer until it seats flat, let the JB cure, then tighten again.

Another thought was to use a piece of wolmanized wood to make a filler.

Any thoughts? Is there a product out there I'm missing?

Thanks.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Bow eye in aluminum row boat

No woolmanized wood in aluminum boats, the chemicals corrode aluminum.

Most bow eyes now are stainless steel "U" bolts and you can find them online like here at the iboats store and Basspro shops and such. They usually come with a small backer plate and you can make a larger one if you need to.

 

[thisusernamevalid]

Re: Bow eye in aluminum row boat

Good tip on the wolmanized wood, thanks!

I've seen all of the bow eye options. None of the backing plates seem to fit the bow, they're just flat. Seems like there should be something to distribute the load as opposed to a couple of points. Maybe I'm overthinking?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Bow eye in aluminum row boat

jigngrub has got you covered...

another idea...

get a hunk of exterior grade plywood, make a backer out of it, coat it thoroughly with some epoxy[3 or more coats], add a small aluminum backer, like I did here

You can also use some 3m 5200 to seal up around the openings...

Should last a lifetime...