Lawrence, My choice would be a S/S U-bolt (two legs share the load 50/50 rather than a bow eye that has just one stem and a nut and it carries 100% of the load). Use very good S/S backing plates. over a large area of plywood and epoxy in the bow to spread the load. If you could hang the M15 from this U-bolt it will be strong enough to take care of all your potential anchor rode loads / and mooring loads. Connie ex M15 #400 LEPPO On 5/31/2018 12:16 PM, Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats 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-... 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?