Glastron V-162 Watersport Towing

[EvstaG]

I have a 1974 Glastron V-162 Futura with an 85HP Johnson that I purchased at the end of last season, I am looking to get into some water sports this season. It mentioned in the factory catalogue for this boat that it came with 2 "ski eyes" I have included a picture to confirm what they are talking about.


To me, these don't really look like a secure towing point, as there is only one bolt going through the hull, with some, but not satisfying amounts of bracing on the inside of the transom. I can wiggle them slightly with my hand. Do you think they will be secure enough to tow a waterskier or 1-2 person tube? There are also two of these points on the boat:


Are these meant for a towing pole, or for a cover of some sort? Thinking that the initial hooks were tow points, I already went and bought the adapter harness for the two ski eye towing system.
From what you have seen, what would be the cheapest workable method to get me into the world of water sports?

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Glastron V-162 Watersport Towing

I looks like there was a ski pylon mounted there in the past. you might want to check into one They sell them here on I boats..Good Luck!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Glastron V-162 Watersport Towing

Absolutely not.

A ski tow eye is a transom "through bolt" of 3/8-1/2" diameter with adequate backing to support the load. On the Glastron as I recall, they didn't have wood all the way across the transom. The center 1/3 yes, but the sides that deflect back no. If I were to put ski eyes on your boat I would go to the big box store and get one of their already cut pieces of 1/2" plywood (saves buying the whole 4x8 sheet) and a Qt. can of linseed oil and another can of turpentine. Before installing, mix the two half and half and treat the plywood on all sides.....this way you get plenty of linseed vs the prepared products. WW may have the eyes as they have a lot of general purpose accessories in their sporting goods dept. or a marine dealer will have them.

I would make 2 layers and cut it so that it goes all the way across the 1/3 section where you are going to place the eye. The reason is the wider and thicker the boards, the better distribution of the stresses. Then drill your holes in the center left to right and about 2-3" below the molding with the black insert on each side.

On the Ski eye, I'd use two large flat washers and nuts, inside and outside, with lockwashers on the inside. Reason is that the eye bolt doesn't have a nice pressure sealing surface on the eye side and putting a nut on first then a flat washer gives you the same surface you have on the inside.

As a sealant in the installation a marine sealant, 3M makes a 5200 (or 3200) I think is the number that is popular on the site. You can use the same sealant to stick the plywood to the boat.....after it gets good and dry so that it will stick to the wood. Since the eyes are as high as they are, they really aren't that susceptible to leaking.

On your ski rope, get the one in polypropylene (so that it floats) with the lanyard and buoyant roller that will roll around between the eyes as the skiing person moves from side to side. It reduces the stress on the helm and makes it easier to maintain a steady course. Then if pulling slaloms, a 2 handed rope is best, especially for beginners.

If the boat hasn't been used with water toys, get a prop with at least a 2" shallower pitch. Popping the skiier out of the hole is a tremendous load on the engine since it's trying to get the boat up too. Expect this to be "too little" prop when you are riding around and not pulling skiiers but that's the price you pay. One thing for sure. Your hole shots will be stellar.

Having run a 125 of those years on an 18' boat and all, I'd expect your prop would be 17p now and you would need a 15. When the boat is light, to keep from overrevving, just keep the throttle cut back to a reasonable rpm.

This ought to work for you.

Mark