: Can't help on the bronze hardware. I checked my copy of Jamestown
: distributors catalog and they have them, but not in bronze. I just
: laminated a teardrop shaped bow eye that will be through bolted / epoxied
: on the foredeck, near the end, backed up on the underside by 1/4 "
: oak with fender washers. The body is about 4" long and the hole is
: lined with 1/2" copper tubing epoxied into place. Looks really neet!

Hmmmmm... I like that idea! I had a similar idea with metal stem bands that went around a flared piece of pipe. I also found a similarly made strap eye that was a strap eye with a welded piece of flared pipe in the center, so instead of the strap making a half-loop you had a full-round loop that was also flared on each side so as not to chafe... $10.50 each by the way. The chandlery had two left and they had been there for three years. Apparently they were not a big seller. Still there would be the problem of rust. I hate rust!!!

: #2
: anything you have tagging along via a tow line / rope could inhibit rolling.
: I would think that the closer to the end of the boat, the less it would
: tend to inhibit, but that's my $.02 worth.

Hmmmm again... not a bad thought. I actually got the idea from a dagger kayak that I had seen when researching deck rigging on production boats for ideas. It also backs up as an attachment point for a security loop, and for a tiedown behind the cockpit when cartopping rather than just at the ends. I had planned on having it in the recess just behind the cockpit, but it's a little tight now that it's all put together. I'd have to move it to deck level to make it work. Option two is a sturdy line running across the deck as opposed to a shock cord. A towline could be clipped to this line, which would be through-bolted on each end via kajak sport deck fittings. ...not as secure as a u-bolt, but would work for towing. For towing your option works better, but in an emergency when you have to throw a rope to your less-fortunate (or less-wise, less-skilled, etc.) partner, it would be great to have a secure loop right behind you so you can pull him/her to safety immediately.