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They winching eye on the front of my 17 montauk is factory I believe. Its like a quarter inch wide (perpendicular to the keel-line). however the diameter of the opening seems to me to be too small.
When i have the wench hook in the eye, I cant fit the safety chain s-hook in there. Therefore i have to have one or the other, and cant have both! I have to use a short eigth inch rope with a loop on both ends to loop through the eye, then the loops over the winch hook - then there is room for the saftey chain s-hook. This results in the boat being supported while in tow by a rope, then the saftey chain if/when that breaks.
Ive looked for smaller s-hooks, but none are rated for any sort of weight worth it. I found a screwed-closing-chain-link rated for 1750lbs , but when unscrewed the eye on the boat is too wide.
If indeed it is factory i thought maybe some of you have had the same experience.
I erience that same issue with mine. I have a winch strap, the clip has a ring that the strap is attached to. The ring on the clip is large enough to pass the safety hook through. If the winch strap breaks the safety chain will keep the boat on the trailer, if the winch strap hook breaks, I'll be sweeping up fiberglass off the roadway.
Same problem here. My solution was to put a large, stainless steel anchor shackle onto the boat's bow eye. Big enough to attach the winch hook and safety chain. I leave it on all the time. Kind of makes the boat look like it's wearing an ear ring...
On my 1987 Montauk, the hook from the strap would not fit in the bow eye. I purchased a shackle that was a bit wider than the thickness of the eye. I installed it with the shank through the eye. I dipped all but the top of the curve in liquid electrical tape so it would not damage the gelcoat. Worked great.
