I just purchased my first canoe and I would like to install painter rings on either end to make for easier transport. It’s a fiberglass Old Town Canadienne 172. Anybody out there have any thoughts on this. Does it sound like a good idea? I’m not even sure it’s possible. At either end of the canoe right at the points (I don’t know the proper term for it) there is a little compartment with floatation foam in it I believe. The caps that seal this off are fiberglass and need some fixing anyways so I thought if I was going to add painter rings now would be the time before I repair the fiberglass caps. And if this is possible where would I find the hardware? Thanks
Tugeye kit puts a piece of tubing
through the hull so that a rope can go through for lining, towing, tying to car. Or you can get plastic tubing and install yourself. The kit needed, or the installation method needed, depends on whether you are dealing with a composite or a Royalex boat.
If done properly, this will not compromise the flotation chamber. Others who have direct experience with Tugeyes will comment…
thanks g2d
That sounds like a good option. I’ve seen those installed and they look pretty good. I will look into this.
Fiberglass???
I don’t see anywhere in the Tugeye documentation that says it works for fiberglass canoes. Only talks about Roylaex and poly. Anyone ever put these on a fiberglass hull? Or maybe explain why this wouldn’t work on fiberglass? THanks
tugeye 2
The web site sayas these are for composite and closed hull boats.
http://www.tugeye.com/install2.html
I need them too for a project.
I’m a newbie
Is Composite just another word for fiberglass? And what is a closed hull boat? Sorry I just don’t quite understand the terminolgy yet.
Yes!
But don’t worry. It get any easier once you get hang of the terminology either. Then you’ll say, “Wait a minute … Royalex is a composite too!”
Tugeye does have a kit for composite
boats. Maybe you’ll have to make a specific inquiry.
Tugeyes for compost boats?
???
Jim 
PVC pipe
One method, which I have used on stitch and glue laminated wood sea kayaks (which are covered with fiberglass cloth), is to insert a short length of PVC pipe in the end of the hull. This requires drilling 2 holes, one in each side of your hull, at the stem of the boat. The holes are just big enough to acommodate the PVC pipe. The PVC pipe runs from one side of the hull to the other. You can easily shape the PVC with a file and sandpaper to miter the cut ends so that they accurately match the contour of your hull. The pipe can be bonded to a fiberglass or kevlar/fiberglass composite canoe, using the same epoxy resin that binds the fiberglass layers together (such as West System epoxy).
This requires a little work, but is very neat when finished. The PVC pipe prevents any water from leaking into the boat or the flotation tank. You can easily thread any type of nylon or polypropylene line through the PVC pipe to make a loop to secure a painter. Tubular nylon webbing can also be used for the loop, and is much easier on the hands if the loop is to be used as a carry handle.
The painter loop can also be placed quite close to the stem’s cutwater (waterline). This is very advantageous when lining the boat through a rapid from shore, or when attaching a tow line. A line tied onto a carry handle and crossed over and above the gunnel tends to tip the canoe over.
You would need very little epoxy for this purpose. Epoxy is not cheap. Best bet would be to find someone who builds or repairs boats and borrow a little.
If you go to the website
on the home page, it will be clearer
http://www.tugeye.com/
Original TugEyes for royalex and poly boats.
TugEyes2 for composites and boats where internal access is restricted.
When paddling season ends, rake
your leaves into your boat, add some soil and fertilizer, and stir occasionally. Vegetable scraps from the kitchen are OK too. If the compost gets really hot, it will swell the dents out of Royalex.
Beware it does work
Thats what we did when we emptied the honeybucket from the outhouse into a canoe. We had tried the year before with a kiddie pool…which melted.
Worked much better with the Grumman. At least it did not melt.
So a compost boat would be aluminum.