Bow Eye pad

[brownies]

Fiberglass hull boats.
Gain access and look at the area inside the hull where the bow eye goes through.
You should see a re-inforced area here. The bolt or bolts should go through that pad. The pad should be solid.
Most boats have a v-shaped chunk of wood placed there, which is then glassed over. Holes are drilled through it for the eye to go through.

Many boats have bow eyes that one of the bolts misses the pad entirely.

To repair, grind glass away, remove what's left of the re-inforcement material (usually a chunk of wood). And grind the hull smooth in this area.
Use chopped fiberglass repair filler (comes in a can at most parts stores).
Fill the "V" and make a small flat pad.
Then hand lay a few layers of fiberglass mat over that.
Redrill and re-install bow eye.

Now, next time you need a tow on the water or need that bow eye for actual useage....you'll feel better.
OR, at least you will think about it?

Don't take that for granted due to age either. I just repaired one on an 05 model boat. Expensive, Big name boat too. Bow eye re-inforcement was a dry rotted piece of wood and only half of the bow eye u-bolt went through that rotten piece of wood.
Mistake at the factory drilling the holes? Oh well, it happens.
Rotten wood that had never been wet since installed???? That's not a mistake.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Bow Eye pad

A few years back when refurbishing my 1965 MFG, I found the bow eye was loose. Turns out the V wood block had broke free of the bow. After a little sanding to clean up old surfaces, I smeared it with epoxy, then attached with the bow eye bolt only snugg tight so as to not squeeze all the epoxy out. The next day, I fully tightened it. Now when its winched up on the trailer, the last two or three cranks of the winch don't make the bow eye move around anymore.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Bow Eye pad

I've redone a few in steel by taking either piece of 1/4" plate in combo with some angle iron and welded up a custom fitted super heavy duty reinforcement. I try to use galvanized or at least to thoroughly rust proof the metal before glassing it into place. I did the one on my boat and it's never budged, it would take ripping out an 8" reinforced section of the bow to rip it out and there's no way the ends of the bow eye will pull through.
When I got that boat the bow eye was simply put through a narrow piece of 1x2" wood and lightly glassed over, the wood had split and let the bow eye extend too far forward. The former owner had cured the problem by covering the area with white tub and tile sealer to keep out water.

 

[SgtMaj]

Removed

Removed

Removed

 

[Mark42]

Re: Bow Eye pad

Great article, and timely too, I was planning to do replace my bow eye and wanted to reinforce it somehow (there's no block behind it at all right now). I was thinking of just adding a layer of glass cloth to the inside to help reinforce it, but after reading this, I think I'll add a wood block behind it as well.

Try to make the block fairly tall, about 10" is what is in my MFG. It helps spread the load. And big thick washers or a nice big piece of flat iron (1/8" x 3"x3" ) behind it will keep the screws from sinking into the wood when tightened. Don't forget sealer where the eye bolt passes through the bow.

 

[brownies]

Re: Bow Eye pad

Instead of wood, Fill that area of the "V" with chopped fiberglass filler or even just body filler (bondo). The chopped glass comes in a can and you just mix it with a few drops of hardner and work it like auto body filler.
It will fill the "V" nicely and taper nice on each end.
It's fiberglass and bonds to the hull like a layer of glass also.
This might be enough itself, but, I always like to add a couple of layers of "mat and resin" over that also.
In my own mind, I think this material evens any stress points by contouring itsel to the area being filled.
It's probably overkill for a bow eye and a person would never even consider it until they ripped the bow eye out.
Most boat manufacturers say not to use that eye to pull the boat onto the trailer..."it's not designed for that".
While that may be true. It still needs to be fairly strong.
To tie to the bank, To be towed with, and to both of those in adverse weather conditions.

Ever notice you don't break down in glass smooth water at the boat ramp. It's always in a monsoon, 20 miles anywhere...lol.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Bow Eye pad

Instead of wood, Fill that area of the "V" with chopped fiberglass filler or even just body filler (bondo). The chopped glass comes in a can and you just mix it with a few drops of hardner and work it like auto body filler.
It will fill the "V" nicely and taper nice on each end.
It's fiberglass and bonds to the hull like a layer of glass also.
This might be enough itself, but, I always like to add a couple of layers of "mat and resin" over that also.
In my own mind, I think this material evens any stress points by contouring itsel to the area being filled.
It's probably overkill for a bow eye and a person would never even consider it until they ripped the bow eye out.
Most boat manufacturers say not to use that eye to pull the boat onto the trailer..."it's not designed for that".
While that may be true. It still needs to be fairly strong.
To tie to the bank, To be towed with, and to both of those in adverse weather conditions.

Ever notice you don't break down in glass smooth water at the boat ramp. It's always in a monsoon, 20 miles anywhere...lol.

I have used the chopped glass mix before and it is a good product. I think the wood needs to be used because it will not flex under load like the chopped glass will. Even if the bow eye sinks into the wood a bit, the block is still spreading the stess over a large area. The chopped glass can't do that as well and can mushroom out under stress letting the eye bolt sink.

That being said, I think the chopped glass mix would be a good product to bed down a block of wood in. It would easily fill any voids or gaps where the wood did not meet the hull.

My take on it is this: The bigger the boat, the more you need to go with a wood block. And never, ever use plain old body filler (bondo) in a stress application like that, even if covered with glass.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Bow Eye pad

canceled