Re: Auto bow eye catch, is there such a thing?
I made my own. I'll try my best to explain how I did it. I started by making a steel plate. Mine is about 16" long. The bottom has a piece of 5/16 tubing (ID) welded to it. I used a 5/16" piece of round stock and fastened it to the trailer in such a way that the plate could swing back and forth, forward and backward. The plate is about 2" wide and is made from 1/4" Steel as I recall. I cut a slot in the plate so that it could slide over the eye as the boat comes up on the trailer. I then mounted a small hydraulic arm, the kind that holds up trunk lids. The bottom end mounts to the trailer several inches forward of where the plate pivots. The top end is attached to the plate. When the hydraulic arm is extended, it forces the arm almost upright. I have a small chain mounted so it limits the travel. As you drive the boat up on the trailer, the bow eye comes in contact with the plate. As the trailer moves forward, it comes to the point where the slot in the plate slips over the bow eye. At that point the hydraulic arm pressure has forced the plate up against the boat with the eye in the slot. Boat is then locked in place. When its time to put the boat back in the water, I pull the plate down away from they eye and again have a small piece of chain that clips on it and holds it away from the eye, so the boat will float off the trailer.
I'm really making this sound way more complicated then it is. The thing works perfectly and I've been dumping my ski centurian in the water for about 15 years with zero problems. Its pretty fool proof. I don't have any sort of winch. I can probably figure out how to post a picture if someone is interested.