Bow Eye question

[Seoul76]

So a question I have always wondered about the bow eye on the Yamahas. HOW strong are these things? Is the area of the boat that it is screwed into reinforced?

Also, how tight do you guys keep the strap on the bow eye when on trailer. I always wonder about how strong it is because there are times when I'm self loading and I crank the boat onto the trailer a bit more than I normally do. I envision me cracking and the bow eye ripping off the bow.

 

[biffdotorg]

sad to say, I saw a dry dock operator suspend the bow of my 242LS from the bow eye while pulling the lifting strap out from under my boat while putting it on the trailer. (obviously not the full weight of the boat) I would strongly recommend not ever doing that, but they did it.

So no, there is no amount of force that you can exert with the winch that will pull that eye out. That being said, get your bunks wet by backing in your trailer too far and then pulling out to the depth you need for proper alignment. It will slide much easier.

And yes, keep that bow snug up against the bow stop. Less chance of sliding back and forth, or bouncing up and down while under way.

 

[2kwik4u]

I can feel my 190 "bouncing" on the trailer if it doesn't get REALLY tightly pulled against the stop. You'll break the strap (or bend the crank handle) before you pull the bow eye out.

 

[Betik]

sad to say, I saw a dry dock operator suspend the bow of my 242LS from the bow eye while pulling the lifting strap out from under my boat while putting it on the trailer. (obviously not the full weight of the boat) I would strongly recommend not ever doing that, but they did it.

So no, there is no amount of force that you can exert with the winch that will pull that eye out. That being said, get your bunks wet by backing in your trailer too far and then pulling out to the depth you need for proper alignment. It will slide much easier.

And yes, keep that bow snug up against the bow stop. Less chance of sliding back and forth, or bouncing up and down while under way.

Same thing happened to my boat.
That being said a couple of times while cranking it I have heard some very unpleasant sounds.
And I doing my very best to minimize winching.

Someone in the forum put a huge ass now Ehe that had front and rear reinforcement. I just cannot remember who it was

 

[haknslash]

Same thing happened to my boat.
That being said a couple of times while cranking it I have heard some very unpleasant sounds.
And I doing my very best to minimize winching.

Someone in the forum put a huge ass now Ehe that had front and rear reinforcement. I just cannot remember who it was

That was @Bill D ’s boat. The previous owner had the bow eye and rear tow lugs reinforced using thick backing plates. The pics are on here somewhere.

 

[haknslash]

Here are some pics

 

[Betik]

@haknslash i do suppose you have any more info on the actual product ( or plate type)!!

 

[2kwik4u]

Boy, sketchy doesn't even begin to describe how that looks.

@Betik Looks like just plate aluminum cut and drilled to shape from the pictures.

 

[Betik]

Boy, sketchy doesn't even begin to describe how that looks.

@Betik Looks like just plate aluminum cut and drilled to shape from the pictures.

I was worried you ( or someone) would have said that.

 

[haknslash]

@haknslash i do suppose you have any more info on the actual product ( or plate type)!!

No idea on the specifics of them but I can text Bill to ask since I don’t think he comes on here often. My guess is 1/4” or 3/8” thick stainless steel plate.

 

[swatski]

I envision me cracking and the bow eye ripping off the bow.

I'm with the other, winch, or winch post, would likely give-in before the bow eye.

I've never tested it though, lol, I power-up whenever I can which is pretty much always. Which could feel a bit unnerving, at first, but once you get the hang of it, the easiest way to retrieve.
If I'm with Kate (wife), she waits until I hit the roller and clips the winch strap and the chain on, tightens the winch strap, jumps back in the truck and we rolling; if I'm alone and/or in a hurry (e.g. busy ramp) I power up and leave the engines running at the lowest setting that hold the bow up against the roller while she's behind the wheel in the truck; I hook the winch up, stop the engines and we are rolling; it takes us seconds to retrieve.

Before exit from parking, we perform the obligatory "5mph hard stop", tighten the buckle straps/tie downs.

--

 

[Betik]

Same procedure with @swatski on our ramp but for us is more like minutes instead of seconds.

PS. we boat a lot during weekdays and often retrieve on Thursday at 8pm with none one the ramp and 2 trailer on the parking lot. So occasionally I have experimented with winching all the way and even using ropes to pull the boat from the dock to trailer and the winch. I have concluded that as long as there is no enviromental or safety considerations power loading is the way to go.

Note some of those retrievals have been YouTube worthy but luckily none around to make me famous

 

[swatski]

Same procedure with @swatski on our ramp but for us is more like minutes instead of seconds.

PS. we boat a lot during weekdays and often retrieve on Thursday at 8pm with none one the ramp and 2 trailer on the parking lot. So occasionally I have experimented with winching all the way and even using ropes to pull the boat from the dock to trailer and the winch. I have concluded that as long as there is no enviromental or safety considerations power loading is the way to go.

Note some of those retrievals have been YouTube worthy but luckily none around to make me famous

I don't know it for a fact, but I feel that getting the boat up on the trailer under it's own power seems to work way smoother for me, with much less stress to the system, less scraping of the hull bottom etc., as opposed to pulling the boat up with the winch - where force vector is different.
But you do have to be careful, of course.

--

 

[2kwik4u]

We attempt to load similar to @swatski @Betik do with power loading. We have a few ramps where it's posted to not do that. My understanding is that it erodes the ground around the end of the ramp on shorter ramps. Some ramps it's an issue some it isn't.

I've also found that loading somewhere with a large number of wakes/waves it's best to winch on instead of power on. The main ramp (Cox's Park) near downtown Louisville on the Ohio is this way. It's completely exposed to river traffic and subsequent wakes. I will typically leave the trailer somewhat shallow (6-8in of fender above the water) after completely wetting the bunks, wade out and clip the winch strap to the bow eye, then "drag" the boat up the bunks until it's tight against the bow stop. Takes a little muscle to get it done, but it keeps the boat from rocking against the trailer as we're loading.

While that procedure doesn't put the full weight of the boat on the boy eye, it's significantly more than a "normal" retrieval. I'm pretty confident the winch or the strap will give out before that bow eye comes out of there.

Where's that guy that has the "instant-locking-doo-dad" on his trailer where he just power loads up until it clicks itself closed, then pulls off?

 

[Seoul76]

sad to say, I saw a dry dock operator suspend the bow of my 242LS from the bow eye while pulling the lifting strap out from under my boat while putting it on the trailer. (obviously not the full weight of the boat) I would strongly recommend not ever doing that, but they did it.

So no, there is no amount of force that you can exert with the winch that will pull that eye out. That being said, get your bunks wet by backing in your trailer too far and then pulling out to the depth you need for proper alignment. It will slide much easier.

And yes, keep that bow snug up against the bow stop. Less chance of sliding back and forth, or bouncing up and down while under way.

Could you post video??

 

[Seoul76]

I originally thought of this because I notice in my 2021 I have to put the trailer in deeper. I originally was doing it just like my 2013 with top of fenders just showing but with the new one I have to get trailer in a bit deeper. I crack much more than before, just wanted to make sure the bow eye was sturdy.

 

[scbruet]

I also have crank it up to the bow stop, but once I pull it out, it's always about 3 inches away from touching the bow stop. Is that gap an issue? I can never get it flush to bow to stop. My ramp is very steep, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[Seoul76]

I also have crank it up to the bow stop, but once I pull it out, it's always about 3 inches away from touching the bow stop. Is that gap an issue? I can never get it flush to bow to stop. My ramp is very steep, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Once you are out of the water...drive forward and hit the brakes hard...this will push your boat fwd and then crank it.

 

[biffdotorg]

Could you post video??

You noticed my edit above, I had to retract it as I see I edited that part out. The forklift lowered it onto the trailer, and then they came back with a strap to the boat from the forklift to position it on my trailer. It scared the hell out of me, as I was buying the boat at that very time!

At the 1:15 mark, the crazy transition edited it out. And I thought I was going to have a good clip to share. Sorry to tease.

 

[swatski]

I also have crank it up to the bow stop, but once I pull it out, it's always about 3 inches away from touching the bow stop. Is that gap an issue? I can never get it flush to bow to stop. My ramp is very steep, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

What @Seoul76 said, we call it a "hard 5mph stop". Do it on the flat, in the parking lot before you tighten the stern tie-downs/buckle straps, and before you hit the highway, lol.

--