Hi Matt,

The bow eye on my boat is a continuous piece of round bar stock bent into a U shape and welded to a base plate.  If the bar stock sheared off clean above the base plate; then, there is a good chance the fiberglass is OK.  However, if the base plate is bent, or there is a gap between the base plate and the bow, or there is gouging or cracking in the bow fiberglass; then, you need to remove whatever is left of the old bow eye.  Inspect the inside and outside of the hull for cracking or other signs of damage.  That bow eye is such a stout fitting; that, I’d be very surprised if it could be broken off without damaging the fiberglass substrate underneath.

When you say the bow eye fitting failed due to fatigue, how do you know that?  Does the failure show signs of rusting or pitting near the surface and a clean fracture thru the center?  If the failure is clean all the way thru, that indicates the fitting was just overloaded in a single event.

It’s considered good practice to use a heavy line from the mooring buoy to the boat.  Of course, you have to keep an eye on it for UV damage or chafe.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
1978  Sanford, MI
Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 8, 2024, at 5:05 PM, Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Stewart,
> 
> I know these are general boating questions so thanks for the help. What
> size and type of line would you recommend?
> 
> Matt Wilson
> Hornblower II
> White Bear Lake MN
> 
>> On Sat, Jun 8, 2024 at 3:41 PM Graham Stewart <gstewart.gm at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Are you connecting the bow ring to the mooring with chain alone? If so, you
>> run the risk of wearing right through the metal hardware or chain. The
>> connection to the boat should  always use lines. You can add a snuber for
>> shock reduction.
>> 
>> Graham Stewart
>> gstewart.gm at gmail.com
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 8, 2024 at 1:04 PM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Sorry everyone,
>>> 
>>> I spent a few hours putting in a new, heavier bow ring and then we had
>>> folks out for a stunning sunset sail.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Yes the ring that attaches the boat to the trailer. That ring was
>> attached
>>> to my mooring and broke from fatigue during a 40 mph sustained gust. I
>> use
>>> a chain on a mooring on a fairly  large MN lake.  It’s mostly sheltered
>> but
>>> when those SE breezes come up there is about 1.5 mi of open water so
>> there
>>> can be a fair amount of wave action on top of sustained 20mph winds at
>>> times.
>>> 
>>> Should I be concerned that the boat fiberglass could be damaged?  Any
>>> thoughts on some kind of spring or a better set up?
>>> 
>>> Thanks so much,
>>> Matt Wilson
>>> HornblowerII
>>> White Bear Lake, MN
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Jun 7, 2024 at 4:13 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi Larry,
>>>> 
>>>> Are you referring to the ring on the bow which is used to winch the
>> boat
>>>> onto the trailer?  Does the bow have a big hole where the ring used to
>>> be?
>>>> What sort of conditions did it take to do that?  What are you going to
>>> have
>>>> to do to repair ?
>>>> 
>>>> Does your boat have bow line chocks?  If yes, then just route the
>> mooring
>>>> line from the bow cleat thru the line chock and down to the mooring
>> buoy.
>>>> You could rig a bridle thru each line chock.  But, the boat won’t ride
>>> too
>>>> far off center with just one.  I wouldn’t bother with rigging the 2nd
>>>> line.  I presume this will be temporary?
>>>> 
>>>> Roger Pihlaja
>>>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>>>> 1978. Sanford, MI
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jun 7, 2024, at 3:36 PM, Larry Gioia via Rhodes22-list <
>>>> rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>  I've seen setups where a yoke is created by a line tied at each end
>>> to
>>>> the 2 foredeck cleats and leading around the bow, connected to a
>> separate
>>>> line that goes to the mooring.
>>>>> And I am curious about that sheared bow ring.
>>>>> Larry
>>>>>   On Friday, June 7, 2024 at 03:29:27 PM EDT, Matt Wilson <
>>>> mwhornblower at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I just had a bow ring shear off during a storm.  Any advice on
>> mooring
>>>> to a
>>>>> buoy without one…just using the foredeck cleat.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Much appreciated,
>>>>> Matt Wilson
>>>>> Hornblower II
>>>>> White Bear Lake, MN
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>