Bow Eye Leak

[HutchR]

I tracked my leak down to the bow eye. At some point the eye got a little loose and there was water intrusion, the wooden backing for the bow eye hardware rotted and the backing plate pulled through the fiberglass covering. Not sure why the fiberglass was there as it trapped the water which helped the rot and it not thick enough to provide any structural support might be just for looks. I noticed that where the eye passes through the bow there were the remains of what looked like a short piece of rubber tubing to help with the seal, I don't know if this was part of the factory set up or something a previous owner did. I will ask Hutchins next week but thought I would ask here while I am wondering. One of the holes is a little wallowed.  I plan to drill the holes out then fill them and re-drill them. I think I should either  drill the holes to fit the 3/8 bow eye and put sealant on both sides or make the holes large enough to incorporate a piece of tubing where it passes through if that is the way it is supposed to be. I will craft a wooden piece like the factory one for inside the bow. Any ideas from anyone who has made the same repair ?

[wes]

That's a challenging repair because of the awkward access.

I would not use tubing. You don't want to encourage movement. Otherwise you're on the right track. Do a careful repair with epoxy, re-drill for the 3/8" eye bolts, countersink on the exterior side, and bed the exterior side ONLY (not the interior) with your favorite sealant; I like 3M 4200. You want any water that gets past the sealant to freely drain to the inside.

Wes

[Bristol14]

I replaced the bow eye on my ?87 23-2 several years ago. The biggest issue was access to the bow. After checking with Hutchins to make sure I wasn?t creating a structural issue, I cut a small square hole in the wooden panel to gain better access. I sourced the new bow eye from Hutchins and used butyl tape as a sealant. To date, no leaks.

[wes]

Butyl tape is another good choice here for sure, or anywhere that metal is through-bolted to fiberglass or epoxy. The only drawback is that it will require several rounds of tightening over a couple of days as the butyl fully compresses. Warm weather helps.

Wes