Bow eye repair

[my1stboat1]

Took my family out today on the boat.. Had a fantastic day and things were great.. Finally after a nice day we get back to the ramp and go to put the boat back on the trailer and as im winching the boat onto the trailer the EYE on the boat pulled out I managed to get the boat on the trailer and secure it down and get home...


How do i Repair this problem, Theres no access to that part of the boat to resecure the eyelid back on.... Now the weird thing is it looks like there were no nuts on the back of it like it was just expoxyed in to begin with... Help me

 

[Maclin]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Details about the boat (size, configuration, age, etc..) and some pics would help the members here help you...

 

[DC20]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Sounds like you need a backing plate. We need pics to see what you are talking about.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Took my family out today on the boat.. Had a fantastic day and things were great.. Finally after a nice day we get back to the ramp and go to put the boat back on the trailer and as im winching the boat onto the trailer the EYE on the boat pulled out I managed to get the boat on the trailer and secure it down and get home...


How do i Repair this problem, Theres no access to that part of the boat to resecure the eyelid back on.... Now the weird thing is it looks like there were no nuts on the back of it like it was just expoxyed in to begin with... Help me

You're going to need to make access to that part of the boat, if there is none. There has got to be access, though. Is there a liner that needs to be removed (at least partially?) Is there a bench seat blocking it. Is this a bowrider, cuddy cabin, center console, ect.? How about some pics... Help us to better help you. we'll need some more info from you, and the pics will really help. Take pics of the bow inside and out. Did the holes for the bow eye tear open, or remain well intact? You say it looks like there were no nuts on the back... Are there threads? I can't see that it would only have been epoxied. I'm thinking that there must be a backing plate and two locknuts rolling around in the bow/hull.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

you got it .. I take some pictures today and post..... The boats a 16 foot bayliner/trophy Center Console... 1988 year.. the floors and hull are solid.. I can believe this pulled out..

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

 

[cobalt1999]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

How did you manage to post your pictures upside down?
It looks as if the factory never installed the nuts on the boweye, at least you don' t have damage to the hull.
How about a picture of the interior of the bow area.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Buy a replacement with a suitable backing plate. Gain access by cutting a hole in the liner to match the size of a deck plate.

 

[oops!]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

something is fishy....the bow eye is one of the strongest parts of the boat.

i doubt the factory would have missed that.

behind the bow eye...is a thick backing plate that is glassed in.

you will need to get to that area.....and as stated above.....yes...there is access to the area....you just have to dismantle some of the upholstery to get at it.

if the backing plate is rotten or in bad condition....you can make a piece of aluminum to go on the inside of the hull that the bow eye bolts to.....this will be super strong.

make sure that you seal the outside of the holes with 3m 5200. this will stop any water intrusion.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

thanks guys,, I took the pictures with my I phone and for some reason they did flip them.. The boat is a center console.. There is no access to that part of the bow.. I am going to cut a hole in the anchor box in the front of the bow on deck which is covered by a Door in the floor... Then make the repair and cover it with the access deck plate.. I appreciate the time you guys took to advise on repair...

 

[possum2082]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

i feel your pain, when i got our boat, it had a loose eye. the nuts were rusted loose.

i went in the cabin and found that the fiberglass was starting to break down and there was no backing plate. i went to lowes and bought a large piece of stainless steel sheet metal and cut a new backing plate with a grinder. it's probably 5''x7'', a little overkill, but it's been fine.

you'll fix it. go do it! def seal it up with some marine caulk.

 

[NYBo]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

It looks like the nuts weren't stainless and have rusted away.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

cutting the hole today, going to get at it and fix it as soon as i can.. Im going to take progress pictures and repost... Thanks again everyone...


Get back to you guys in a week

 

[jigngrub]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Be sure to use stainless nyloc nuts.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

same thing happened to me--1988 Key West DC. Came off while trailering and the boat slid back a foot, held by the strap (roller trailer). Learned that the safety chain is not as much of a back-up; it all relied on the bow hook.
Apparently the factory used poor grade SS or not even SS and the nuts rusted away; found no evidence of them or a backing plate.
I had a locker in the bow, so I used a sawall to cut out the back wall (replaced w/ plywood; it's out of sight). Then I had to claw through about a foot of floatation foam (used a garden tool). The reach was about the length of my arm. What a pain that job was.
Put in SS and a backing plate.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Unreal, that a stainless steel bow eye, with stainless steel hardware showing, would have non stainless hardware inside. That's really disheartening.

I would replace the backing plate with an oversized one, to spread out the stress load when pulling the boat by the bow eye. As jigngrub stated, use stainless steel nylon lock-nuts. you can also use stainless steel lock washers.

Good luck, do a great job, and please keep us posted with more pics!!!

 

[SouthTexan]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Yikes! Sounds like you have already gotten this project underway, but just in case it is helpful to you, here is a picture of what the inside of your bow eye support probably looks like:

Mine is obviously damaged, just not to the extent that you experienced! My plan is to remake the fiberglass support and add a large SS backing plate. Can't believe the factory would build like that!

Good luck and let's see some after pics!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

You'll do yourself a favor to lose the double nuts and use a single nyloc nut on that bow eye SouthTex.

 

[SouthTexan]

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Re: oh my,, Need help please

Agreed jigngrub, and thanks - will be going back together with SS nylon lock nuts for sure