Bow Eye Location for towing

[Capn Jack]

This summer was the first opportunity to tow my 16' C-Dory. Under 8 knots was fine, but it appears the bow eye needs to be re-located lower on the stem to bring the bow up for anything faster. Any suggestions???

Jack

[Sea Wolf]

Capn Jack-

Lots of boats have bow eyes too low for towing. They're set up for a convenient location for the trailer launching / retrieval operation instead.

A Coast Guard friend of mine told me this.

He said that Sea Ray was one of the few boats that had the bow eyes low enough to raise the bow properly for a good tow, particularly in rough water.

It makes using the bow eye as part of a mooring setup difficult, however, as I have to lay down on the dock to reach the bow eye which is only about 20 inches above the waterline on a 26.5 foot boat.

I'd add a second bow eye down lower on your boat.

Be sure to make a suitable hardwood v-block that won't de-laminate under pressure, and glass it in throughly underneath and over the top with several layers of glass cloth.

After drilling the hole(s) for the bolt(s), threat the bore with resin several times to prevent water intrusion and then seal the bolt(s) in with 3M 4200 or similar.

Use fender washers or a stainless plate inside behind the block and double nuts or aircraft nuts on the bolts or thread lock on the nuts.

On a 18 footer or larger boat , I'd use a two bolt bow eye, but you could probably use a single bolt type on a 16.

Also, use a stainless bow eye, not a plated steel one, like those below chosen to show the one/two bolt difference only.





Joe.

[Capn Jack]

Thanks for the input Joe.

I'll use the stainless "U" bolt model and put the second bow eye right at the water line. I'm also going to have to make up a "Pig Tail" for my tow line that I can leave attached all of the time. One that will reach from the bow eye to the cockpit. With the Whaler I could just reach over the bow and hook on, but the C-Dory requires my laying down on the swim grid and that gets a little dicey when the water is rough. That "cute" little anchor tried to spear me more than once this summer.

I hope your hip is progressing nicely

Jack

[thataway]

Agree 100% with Joe. When you put in the hardwood block (I use white oak), I would use a Mish mash of random fibers with epoxy to fill any voids between the block and the glass (grind off any paint of gel coat before putting in the block on the inside). I use SS or Aluminum backing plate over the entire block. We towed a 22 foot Grady white with this technique behind a trawler.

[Capn Jack]

I had a chance to eyeball a location for the bow eye and "Right at the water line" It will fall right between two fasteners in the stem guard.
This summer We had a lot of comments from other boaters about how "Cute, but practical" the boat is. The "Admiral" and I are really quite happy with it. Jack

[Capn Jack]

Just finished drilling pilot holes for the "Towing" Bow Eye. Wouldn't you know. They came through right where the block that holds the latch for the forward bulkhead is located. And guess what!!! The hull (Stem) is over four inches thick at that point. Tomorrow it's back to West Marine and return the 4" for a 6" Bow EYE. Another 30 minute job that's going to eat up 2 days.

Jack

[Capn Jack]

Ended up, the longest 3/8" bow eye I could buy was 1/2" too short.
I solved the problem by cutting another 1/2" of threads into each leg. Now I just have to touch up the paint and put the inside of the boat back together. Jack

[1TUBERIDER]

Why do you want to tow a vessel over 8 knots?

I have towed at planing speeds training but I was towing a cg vessel with a cg vessel and all equipment was up to task. Stresses are a lot greater and you need someone tending the helm on the towed vessel as well as your own stern watch.

I was always trained to grab the boweye for the tow (trailerable boats as larger vessels don't have them), unless they had something better like a sampson post, but they are always mounted higher than bow eyes. Bow eyes are installed in reinforced areas, like 4 inches of glass. Maybe not all created equal, but supposed to up to the extra stresses.

The higher tow speeds will also greatly increase fuel consumption something I would like to pass on to the towed vessel.

[Capn Jack]

Thanks for the input Tube Rider,
My 16' C-Dory is a replacement for a 13.5 Whaler and the Whaler towed quite well at 15 knots. This year we went considerably slower, not only to see what the fuel savings would be, but also, it was the first time towing the C-Dory. I found that from the factory bow eye, the C-Dory towed quite well at speeds up to 8 knots, anything above that and it started to get squirrelly because the bow was too low. Not a good situation. There may come a time in the future when I have to "make a run for it" and I don't want to loose "Mah Dinghy Thingy". Jack

[1TUBERIDER]

Hi Jack. I think our hull design is your speed limiter. No lift from pulling only pushing.
Our bow will tend to catch and wander, as you observe, and at higher speeds I think it will be worse. Your whaler generated lift as speed increased therefore is was much better at following. I never had to tow a cdory so my comments come from observing the hull lines and experience of towing various vessels.

You must have a good sized boat for towing. Is the stern higher than the bow of you cdory. A higher tow mounting point as well as a shorter tow line and maybe a small drogue off the stern would help, but I think you will find our boats to squirrelly to tow at high speeds without someone tending your helm on the towed vessel.

I was sort of thinking you were towing your vessel in a distressed situation instead of bringing along the toys. I think you have the wrong hull design for those higher speeds.

Jeff

[Capn Jack]

Thanks Jeff,
I realized there would be trade offs when I decided to change boats but I believe I can make it work for us. We both love the C-Dory and so far towing speed has been the only issue (see ).

Jack