Bow Eye Question

[CJ]

Is there a rule of thumb when it comes to positioning a through-bolted bow eye (with regards to how far down the stem it should go to look right)? I'm building a Penobscot 14.

Thanks,
CJ

[P.L.Lenihan]

Well, for small boats, the lower the better; ie, right above the water line. The reasoning for this, I believe, has to do with towing the boat. A low bow eye install will keep her nose up when being towed.
The plans don't happen to detail the location do they?

Peter

[htom]

If you want to use the bow eye for towing in the water or onto a trailer, you want it just above the waterline; this reduces the lever arm that the towing force works on the frame that tries to bend the stem.

If you want to use it for the painter, to tie it to the dock, it's handy to have it as high as possible.

This leads to having two bow eyes, and that's better than towing with the high location.

[Thorne]

I made the error of guessing at the best position on the bow eye for my dory skiff, and got it too high -- looks funny and doesn't tow as well.

So when they say "right above the waterline", they MEAN it...

;0 )

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Unfortunately, for towing, yup. I don't really want to put two bow eyes on my boats, so I have not really resolved the question. I can however, tie a painter around my breasthook which is open around the stem.
Eric

[donald branscom]

The best is to have one just above the waterline AND one on the deck.

Here is why. Besides towing which is always risky for both boats because of the forces involved, try to avoid that like the plague except when towing an small boat behind a large sailboat.

The best reason to have one of the bow eyes just above the waterline is so when you are at anchor you can have a short line attached to that bow eye with the other end hooked onto your anchor chain so the force is being pulled from down low and not over the deck edges where movement will be a much larger motion.

The eye on the deck is great for small boats just to pull on to beach the boat or help getting it positioned on the trailer or having someone hold the line while you are parking your car or things like that.
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[Tom Lathrop]

If you trailer your small boat, the main thing determining the location of the bow eye will be that it should meet the trailer winch at the proper height. If you can't move the winch or the trailer is used for more than one boat, the the bow eye height should made to match.

I doubt that you will be towing your Penobscot 14 very much so that should not be an issue.

[Thorne]

Good point, Tom.

On my dory skiff with the bow eye maybe 6" too high, it gets pulled *down* by the trailer winch, not forward -- raising the transom if I crank it down too tight.

[donald branscom]

Different size boats and type boats require different set ups.
Sometimes it is just a matter of personal style of the boat or the boat owner. This is for all deck fittings and hardware.

Towing of boats is the same deal not all boats showed be towed the same way. Some boats are not built or equiped to be towed at all.
You really need to know what you are doing.
I won't get into details because it is a huge subject.

[almeyer]

I don't recall the Penobscot plans showing where to mount the bow eye. I more or less eye-balled what I thought looked good; another consideration was that I wanted the shank on the bow eye to come thru the stem above the floatation chamber, so I could get access to it easier. This effectively negates having the eye installed near the water line. I've only had the boat towed once, when the wind was low and the lake choppy courtesy of a bunch of power boat wakes. The boat seemed to handle fine under tow.
Al

look quick before Imagestationg goes away.....(
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid120/p56b1cc94c8838b3ddb506435ce7dd5b8/f85c7e5e.jpg

[CJ]

Thanks, everyone for your input. Since I won't be towing this much, if at all, or putting it on a trailer, I think I'll keep the eye fairly high. I'll eyeball it for a 'proper' look, but will probably end up with it like Almeyer's P14 above.

It's just nice to be at the stage where this is what I'm worried about...

Thanks again!
CJ

[donald branscom]

Thanks, everyone for your input. Since I won't be towing this much, if at all, or putting it on a trailer, I think I'll keep the eye fairly high. I'll eyeball it for a 'proper' look, but will probably end up with it like Almeyer's P14 above.

It's just nice to be at the stage where this is what I'm worried about...

Thanks again!
CJ

I completely understand about being at the stage you are selecting hardware. Lots of fun.