While pulling my MacGregor 22 out of the water, the bow eye came loose. It is still attached but has about 1/2 inch play in it. There doesn't appear to be access in the cabin at the bow without doing some cutting. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.
Loose Bow Eye
- Thread starter warrendg
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Bow Eye
I have a V222 and if it is like mine, all it is, is a U bolt through the hull and inside is a piece of wood which the U ends come through. Just go up front inside and tighten them. Make sure you have some large washers on the piece of wood inside, as otherwise the nuts will cut into the wood and the fixture will loosen!
I have a V222 and if it is like mine, all it is, is a U bolt through the hull and inside is a piece of wood which the U ends come through. Just go up front inside and tighten them. Make sure you have some large washers on the piece of wood inside, as otherwise the nuts will cut into the wood and the fixture will loosen!
Bow Eye
I've fixed this problem on 2 Mac's and another boat. The wood they used to back your bow eye is too soft. Take a look inside and you can find the 2 nuts that hold the bow eye in. Take them off and pull the bow eye out. Now you can replace the backing (piece of wood). Use a good hard wood. Teak, Mahogony, Oak, and shape it to fit the V of the bow, then, drill the new holes for the bow eye. If you want it even stronger, put a piece of aluminum on the top of the wood and drill through that too. Do use washers, fender washers will distribute the pressure more than small flat washers. Use a lock washer under each nut too. Some people like to use a self locking nut durring this up grade, some like to use lock tite. And some just use a punch and ping the threads right were they meet the nut. This will prevent the nut from backing off. Our boats get a lot of vibration from being trailered so we have to be more aware of fittings getting loose more than those who keep their boats at a dock.
I've fixed this problem on 2 Mac's and another boat. The wood they used to back your bow eye is too soft. Take a look inside and you can find the 2 nuts that hold the bow eye in. Take them off and pull the bow eye out. Now you can replace the backing (piece of wood). Use a good hard wood. Teak, Mahogony, Oak, and shape it to fit the V of the bow, then, drill the new holes for the bow eye. If you want it even stronger, put a piece of aluminum on the top of the wood and drill through that too. Do use washers, fender washers will distribute the pressure more than small flat washers. Use a lock washer under each nut too. Some people like to use a self locking nut durring this up grade, some like to use lock tite. And some just use a punch and ping the threads right were they meet the nut. This will prevent the nut from backing off. Our boats get a lot of vibration from being trailered so we have to be more aware of fittings getting loose more than those who keep their boats at a dock.
Bow eye repair
I found the same thing on my Mac 25. The wood had turned to powder with dry rot. I placed brass tubing around the shafts of the u-bolt type bow eye, and then put it back into positionn. I packed the area where the wood was with Marine Tex. I used stainless washers as backing plates. The tubing allows me to removed the bow eye without major sugery. Also prevents cracking of the filler if the bow eye receives a blow.
I found the same thing on my Mac 25. The wood had turned to powder with dry rot. I placed brass tubing around the shafts of the u-bolt type bow eye, and then put it back into positionn. I packed the area where the wood was with Marine Tex. I used stainless washers as backing plates. The tubing allows me to removed the bow eye without major sugery. Also prevents cracking of the filler if the bow eye receives a blow.
Bow Eye Repiar
Brass tube idea seems good at first, except! If the marine tex is softer than the brass, then all the pressure pulling on the bow eye will be transfered to the hull where the tubes contact the hull. This could cause the tube to wear through the hull in time, ouch! If the Marine Tex is harder than the brass, no problem, great idea, good easy fix, and could have used tubes made of paper too. I know that as soon as any one mentions "drill" some people are already starting to cringe. But those of us who started with old boats already got a lot of practice filling some PO holes. I did think about coating the wood backing with epoxy to prevent the dry rotting, but ran out of time, and shaping the wood was pretty easy and fast anyways. A coat of boiled linseed can be put on almost anytime to help fight the dry rot problem. I used some scrap oak I had around. Color doesn't match any of the other wood in the cabin, but as you know you don't see this anyways.
Brass tube idea seems good at first, except! If the marine tex is softer than the brass, then all the pressure pulling on the bow eye will be transfered to the hull where the tubes contact the hull. This could cause the tube to wear through the hull in time, ouch! If the Marine Tex is harder than the brass, no problem, great idea, good easy fix, and could have used tubes made of paper too. I know that as soon as any one mentions "drill" some people are already starting to cringe. But those of us who started with old boats already got a lot of practice filling some PO holes. I did think about coating the wood backing with epoxy to prevent the dry rotting, but ran out of time, and shaping the wood was pretty easy and fast anyways. A coat of boiled linseed can be put on almost anytime to help fight the dry rot problem. I used some scrap oak I had around. Color doesn't match any of the other wood in the cabin, but as you know you don't see this anyways.
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