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I blame it all on my friend Tim Jones. I took notes at his class and saw the corroded bow eye and decided I should take a look at. Pulled the old one and it looked good. Maybe Chuck C. had replaced it. It didn't look 52 years old (but, then, neither does Becky) and I'm not replacing her!
Anyway, since it was out, I thought it might not be a bad idea to replace it with one of those U-bolt eyes. After all, two bolts should be better than one. So, I bought stainless 1/2 inch. Now I had to drill out the hole the old bolt went through and carefully measure and drill another hole. Since my boat is temporarily on the lot that belongs to a guy in Dubia (hey, he's a friend and I know he would approve of it setting there while they dig up the road in front of my house), I didn't have access to electricity but I do have a cordless drill.
Of course the battery went dead before I got the first hole drilled out. So, I put it on the charger and went to walk the dog.
Got back and there was enough charge to drill both holes. Now, how do you push the U-bolt through the fiberglass and the wood backing plate which was loose. Figured out a way and eventually got it in place. Now Chuck had done a nice job of putting up a partition in the bow but left just enough room to get an arm and a flashlight in around it. Smeared some 3M 5200 on everything in sight (including my hands, my clothes and the rest of the boat). Tightened everything up and it was only five hours after I started the simple job.
Then, I slipped and fell head first onto a stump as I was climbing out of the boat. Landed on head and shoulder and managed to tweak my back.
Now Becky is filling the Jacuzzi tub for a comforting soak. Think I'll ever go to another training seminar? Oh, I have a short memory and am used to pain so I suppose I will.
Anyway, since it was out, I thought it might not be a bad idea to replace it with one of those U-bolt eyes. After all, two bolts should be better than one. So, I bought stainless 1/2 inch. Now I had to drill out the hole the old bolt went through and carefully measure and drill another hole. Since my boat is temporarily on the lot that belongs to a guy in Dubia (hey, he's a friend and I know he would approve of it setting there while they dig up the road in front of my house), I didn't have access to electricity but I do have a cordless drill.
Of course the battery went dead before I got the first hole drilled out. So, I put it on the charger and went to walk the dog.
Got back and there was enough charge to drill both holes. Now, how do you push the U-bolt through the fiberglass and the wood backing plate which was loose. Figured out a way and eventually got it in place. Now Chuck had done a nice job of putting up a partition in the bow but left just enough room to get an arm and a flashlight in around it. Smeared some 3M 5200 on everything in sight (including my hands, my clothes and the rest of the boat). Tightened everything up and it was only five hours after I started the simple job.
Then, I slipped and fell head first onto a stump as I was climbing out of the boat. Landed on head and shoulder and managed to tweak my back.
Now Becky is filling the Jacuzzi tub for a comforting soak. Think I'll ever go to another training seminar? Oh, I have a short memory and am used to pain so I suppose I will.
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