Hull eye pulled out of 2002 190 Bay

[rtburns]

After my boat setup up over winter I went to take my boat out and the hull eye while sitting on the trailer pulled out putting a baseball size hole where the hull eye used to be. I have talked to Brian at Triumph Marine and he had me take the boat to a dealer to be fixed. I just talked to the dealer today and he informed me that they have tried two different ways of repairing the hull eye. The dealer told me that even with the larger bracket supplied by Triumph and then he was told to weld another bracket onto the larger one and that still is pulling out when winching the boat to the trailer. The Dealer said Brian is sending him more material to shore up that area. I am a little more than concerned that I might have the boat out after the third repair and start winching the boat onto the trailer and have it pull out again then I will be left stranded. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do next? I sent a note to Brian at Triumph telling of my concern and I at this point do not have much confidence that the repair will hold long term.

[Jan from Humboldt]

Was it under tension all winter?

That's a major item to have break and I've never heard of something like that happening without a cause like hitting something.

[Putershark]

Very strange indeed...

• I would make sure the dealer test it several times before you take it home...
• I would also dunk that trailer down into the water much further than normal after getting back, this to take as much stress off of the eye by not using it (like many do) to "pull" the boat up the trailer. Matter of fact I would just drive it up onto the trailer till it bumps the roller and just use the wench to snug it down.
• As a additional saftey measure till you know it is going to hold. You may want to run a tow strap up and over the bow (a few feet back and past the front cleats) and around under the trailer till it makes a complete circle. Then tight it down some till it holds the boat onto the trailer much like a clamp would. This way if the bow eye does let go, then that circle strap will help keep it from pitching up and off of the trailer at highway speeds or over a bump.

Even though it may get repaired, it is going to take some time for you to trust it again I agree... That is why I think some extra hold down straps and releasing some of the work load "off" the eye that some do by pulling it up the trailer is very wise for a while... Many forget that most trailers are made to drive the boat off and back on them if the trailer is dunked deep enough (water about 1/2 way up my wheels works for me) to allow for such.


As time goes along though, you should be able to rebuild your trust in the bow eye holding again and better safe than sorry for sure

[fridaysoff]

Putershark,
Great post with good advice for all.
John D.

[rtburns]

As far as I know the boat had no tension on it all winter since it was just sitting there. I am very fearful of this since when it pulled out it a;so cracked down the beam of the boat about 6 inches.

[Sea.P.A.]

I know this won't help but I do remember that my eye was very loose after my first few trips out and I was worried that this very thing was going to happen to me as well. I did tighten it up the way I thought it should have been from the beginning and have not had trouble for the 3-4 years since I've done this on my 2003.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by Sea.P.A.

I know this won't help but I do remember that my eye was very loose after my first few trips out and I was worried that this very thing was going to happen to me as well. I did tighten it up the way I thought it should have been from the beginning and have not had trouble for the 3-4 years since I've done this on my 2003.

The shock of it being loose driving down the road has a similar effect as an impact wrench, or jack hammer (bang bang bang).

Do you drive on the trailer or winch it? I always drive on. Still, no matter how you do it, it should work.

[Sea.P.A.]

I drive on about 90% of the time depending on the ramp I use. I may have tightened it up before there was any damage. I've towed it from OK to AR moved from OK to SC then to GA and along the way, took trips to FL, MD and NC without considering the minimum 3 times a month local use for the last 3-4 years with no issues.

[palehorse]

Hope it's not a factory defect that we will all be seeing down the road. What year model is your 190?

[rtburns]

My boat is a 2002. I have heard there are allot of the earlier models that this can happen to. Since they have designed a bracket to go behind the hull eye if this happens. I am thinking I should push the factory for a new hull since it has a lifetime warranty and I have little faith in the repair. Does anyone know how to start this process?