Lawerance: Your boat didnt come with a bow eye as the bow plate has a big eye for attaching the trailer winch line/strap. You want a ubolt boweye such as - http://www.sea-dog.com/groups/180-u-bolt You cut an access port at the forward end of the vberth through the hull liner. Use a hole saw to match the plate you choose - https://www.westmarine.com/search?Ntt=Screw+in+deck+plate Back the ubolt with good marine OK hardwood shaped to confirm with the bow that you coat with resin and then fiberglass into place. Install the bow eye and bed with 3M4000 or 4200 or Sikaflex 291. The bow eye will be strong enough to lift the boat like a giant fish. A snubber should run off the bow cleat and have chafe protection (chocks help). I disagree with your idea of the attachment being low ... search net for photos of how people use a shock line for an anchor chain. Make sure where you install the bow eye it doesn't interfer with the trailer's bow stop. :: Dave Scobie :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - m17-375.com On Thu, May 31, 2018, 10:17 AM Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
I'm thinking about putting a bow eye, or u-bolt in the bow stem closer to the waterline (My m-15 doesn't have one) . I've got a few reasons for wanting this.
1. I'd like a mooring attachment down low, so the line/pendant can't catch or chaffe. I want to have one of those big pool noodles to put aroundthe line as a float/stiffener to keep the mooring ball away from my nice boat and have the whole thing near water level. I learned the hard way the last time when my boat drifted around and around and around the ball, eventually wound up stuck to it. Seems therehas to be a better way.
2. Another attachment point for a mooring ball so there are 2 points if one fails.
3. I'd like to have a low attachment point for a snubber for the anchor in rougher waves. It just seems better to be pulling fromdown low, especially if the waves are coming sideways.
I read through the archives and found thishttps:// www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm/product/1882/bow-eye-rebuild-kit-c-22.cfm but they say explicitly in the description
"Never moor your boat from the trailer bow eye. It is intended to take the load from the trailer winch directly forward of the boat....." I see the point. Bolt's aren't meant for side loads, but but reading lots of stuff on the net, it seems LOTS of people moor from the bow eye, andit seems that while side loads are bad for the bolt, side loads are also a reason to attach closer to the waterline to make the boat less tippy.
So what is the solution?