SO 37 - Witchard Toe Rail Pad Eye?

[svejk]

I was wondering how to secure items to the bow (dinghy, jerry cans, ill behaved crew) and thought about drilling the toe rail which did not seem appealing.  I came across the Witchard Toe Rail Pad Eye and wondered if anyone had used them on a SO 37?  While they're a tad pricey at $144 ea it's still cheaper than repairing a toe rail in the future.

Thoughts?

[jdl01]

I used wichard toe rail padeyes on my previous boat. Like most of this manufacturer's products they were well designed and well built. The broad base meant no distortion of the solid aluminum toe rail under load conditions like turning blocks for barberhaulers, spinnaker guys etc. The only drawback was the price.

[capnbrian]

Never saw these before.  Looks like a great solution for attaching anything to the toe rail…spinnaker blocks, preventer, etc.  Pricey though!  Especially since you probably need a pair of them!

Has anyone come across anything similar at a more reasonable cost?

I don’t like the idea of drilling the toe rail either!  Not sure why they even bother to make a solid toe rail!

[DarknStormy]

What about using a dyneema softshackle? easy and inexpensive to make yourself. 

[svejk]

The SO37 doesn't have a slotted toe rail so I would have to drill first so I have an attachment point for the shackle.

I ended up biting the bullet and ordering them from Vela Sailing.  Not cheap but it's the right tool for the right job.

Many thanks for the response!

[eoin2020]

Oct 20, 2022 18:27:30 GMT svejk said:

I was wondering how to secure items to the bow (dinghy, jerry cans, ill behaved crew) and thought about drilling the toe rail which did not seem appealing.  I came across the Witchard Toe Rail Pad Eye and wondered if anyone had used them on a SO 37?  While they're a tad pricey at $144 ea it's still cheaper than repairing a toe rail in the future.

Thoughts?

Just saw your last post and see you've purchased already, but if you're looking for more and with the strength of the USD against the Euro here's another slightly cheaper online European supplier www.svb24.com/en/wichard-toe-rail-pad-eye.html
I've no affiliation with them apart from purchasing from them in the past.

Out of curiosity though I've never even heard of the Witchard Pad Eyes till I read your post and you mentioned you not wanting to drill the toe rail, don't you still have to drill the toe rail to fit the Witchard Pad Eye?  

[svejk]

Thanks for the link eoin202 and you are correct, I still have to drill a small hole (2-4mm) but the tension of the shackle is now spread an a larger portion of the toe rail and not just some random guess on my part