Safety tip: Bow Eye on your boat

dstockwell · Post by **dstockwell** » February 24th, 2004, 12:17 pm

A man was killed in Tarpon Springs a couple of weeks ago when the Bow Eye broke on his boat. He was winching the boat back on the trailer when the eye pulled out. It struck him in the head.

Check your bow eye. In some cases, it is readily accessible. In others, it can be a real challenge. I once found one rusted most of the way through. If your boat has lifting rings, it might be a good idea to check them too.

While you are at it, check out your winch rope/strap/cable. If it is frayed or sun damaged, change it.

If you are not directly involved in winching a boat onto a trailer, stay out of the way. Things break. A broken rope or cable is a dangerous beast.

Courtesy Capt Ken SFF board..

Post by **CSMarine** » February 24th, 2004, 12:23 pm

Had that happen to me at Keaton lift two years ago. Sucker snapped off when they winched it down on the bow. Had to cut an access hole in my front fishing deck to get to it from the inside.

Post by **Sir reel** » February 24th, 2004, 1:04 pm

Lesson's learned can be really tough some times. Spent 6 years in the operating engineers (heavy equipment operator) during the initial building of Disney in Central Florida. Saw lots of examples of "stuff" happen'n with cables under stress. Any time you have strain on a cable, rope, strap, etc. do what ever it takes to stay out of a direct line if it should separate. Saw cable on a 40 ton crane snap one day and come back inside the cab with the operator. We don't always realize how much tension we can physically create on a hand winch but its significant. Thanks DS for reminding us on some of the dangers around us.