Last summer I bought a new canoe and managed to get out in her for several extended trips.  In the course of putting her through her paces an old issue came up around what to do with the painter.  The painter is one of the least sexy pieces of equipment in anyone’s canoeing kit but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.  The painter is a tie off whether to a dock, at a campsite to keep your investment from blowing away in a gale, or to a tree while you do some scouting along a rugged shore.  It is a tow rope whether you need towing, somebody else does or to haul your canoe up a steep incline or cliff side.  Of course it is a critical piece of gear for lining white water.  The painter can sometimes be detached altogether for unexpected emergency use.  There are even some people (not me) who use their painter as a tie-down for transporting their canoe atop their vehicle.  In the past I’ve mostly tied my painter to the carry thwart behind the bow deck, coiled it up and let it dangle under the deck.  But that is a poor solution for a lot of reasons and even drilling holes in the fore deck for a bungee loop to store the coil doesn’t resolve a couple of key issues.  First, the carry thwart isn’t really meant to handle the force that might be placed on it when the painter is in use in some of the ways I’ve mentioned.  Though it has never happened to me, I have heard many stories of a carry thwart snapping or causing damage to the hull because of the force exerted on it by the painter.  The second problem with tying off to the carry thwart is that it is in the wrong place for lining or manoeuvring the canoe when it’s in the water but you’re not in the canoe.  In such a case, to be effective, the painter should be attached at the very front (and rear) of the canoe fairly close to the water line otherwise your efforts to pull it around can as easily lead to capsizing as not.

So I decided that I’d like to have my painter attached where it will be most effective.  There may be others of you who have had the same notion but were put off by the thought of drilling holes into your shiny new (or not so new) vessel.  It certainly put me off.  But then I found out about this product which is so clever that I thought I’d pass it on for your interest.  The product is called Tugeye and while I confess that I haven’t yet installed it, I’m told by others who have (and judging by the mounting instructions) that anyone who can use an electric drill can do this job in 20 minutes.  Here’s the link:   (You need to Login or Register

I've always tied a bowline knot around the bow handle, and secured the coiled rope with a BDB around the same handle. Repeat for the stern. One tug and the line is free in hand, and the BDB stays in place for re-storing.

This has worked for me, but if serious whitewater were on the agenda, then having the painter closer to the waterline is ideal. Interesting product - looks easy enough to do... just have to bring yourself to drill two holes in your boat.  :o

Since I rent a canoe, I do what Ranger does.
It is okay, but there have been times when lining a canoe it was evident that being closer to the water line is the better way to go and offer the least chance of the canoe rolling toward you if enough force is being applied.

I would add the Tug-Eye without reservation if the canoe were mine.
The detailed instructions and ease of doing, along with simplicity of design should ease any fears you might have.

Their right on with the rope suggestion, bowline and no knot in the slack end.

I'd still loop and secure with Bungee Bob on bow and stern if possible for quick deployment and security on portages.

Seems like a simple solution to task that could prove unnerving if your not confidant in your handy man skills ;)

Attatch one when needed, which is rare.  Right or worng, it's what I do.

The original Tugeye for Royalex boats is indeed easy to install. The newer version for kevlar is more difficult/awkward - that comes with a little tube/ring whatever that kept falling off when I was pounding it home.  Of course, once it fell off, it rolled somewhere in the garage and I had to hunt it down - luckily, I found it hiding under the truck.  take care with that.

Its a whole lot easier, pretty simple, to drill the royalex boat; the UL kevlar was more difficult, as its a thin, flexible surface and the resin tends to chip, not cut - putting a piece of masking tape on where I drilled helped a bit with that.

The royalex version has an inside diameter of about 1/2", or maybe 5/8" (don't have a canoe handy to look at) which makes it easy to run a line through - I use cheapo floating poly line from Home Depot - it looks like kernmantle climbing rope (its not that yellow crap - this has a good "hand" and knotability), but I don't suppose its more then 300Lbs tensile strength - not gonna winch a canoe off a rock with it, but fine for painter use.  Don't need to do any lining in Quetico.

The kevlar version is smaller, with an inside diameter of about 3/8" and won't take the bigger diameter rope.  I only installed one Tugeye in my UL boat so far, in my Northstar, but will get around to putting one in my Merlin.  I don't worry about the carry handle not working for a painter line attachment - the reason I installed the tugey in the kevlar boat was to be able to lock it to my rack, which locks to my truck (I run a cable thru the frame and rack and the canoe is attached to that) - or to lock it to anything else, to add one small deterrent to keep someone from just walking up at night and cutting a couple of ropes and making off with three thousand dollars worth of boat - at least this way, they need a bolt cutter with them to cut the cables.  That's one thing I don't like about the smaller tugeye for kevlar - I can't find a "good" cable lock that will fit thru the small hole - I could only find a cheap bike lock with a 1/4" diameter cable that will work, but at least its somehting.  The royalex version, with a larger diameter, I use a kevlar reinforced bike lock that's about 3/8" diameter - had to file off a flange at the end, but that didnt' affect the cable strength.  One trip last year, I had to leave my Rx boat unattended at the put-in while doing a shuttle - it was nice to be able to lock it there.  

It may be rare, but boats do get stolen - I seem to read about two or three each year on P-net or C-Boats.  Last time, as I recall, a paddler left his boat at a takeout along a highway while he went back for his vehicle - somehting he'd done several times before at that same spot - this time, boat was gone when he got back.  Here in Colorado, there are always a few kayaks stolen in similar circumstances each year.  

So for me, installing the tugeyes is more about having a bit of insurance, being able to lock my boats, than it is about lining or anything else.  They work fine for that.

just by the way, there is a cheaper, do it yourself version - drill your holes thru the hull and use a piece of 3/4" white pvc pipe to span the gap bewteen the sides - you nees to shape the pipe to the angle/contour of the sides of the boat; tehn jsut epoxy in place.  That also seems much easier to do with a royalex hull than with a very thin kevlar hull.
There's likely a half dozen videos out on You-tube about how to do this - but I liked the clean finsh of the tugeyes, so used them instead.

I've seen quite a few people just drill the 3/4" holes in Rx, and put a loop of 1" webbib thru - nor much water gets in the boat as the webbing is a tight fit - don't think that would work on kevlar though

Yeah...really not a big concern here.  I've never needed one to the point that I would drill a hole into my cedar stripper or kevlar for that matter.  I do have a brass loop mounted on the deck of the bow and stearn where I attach a rope if and when needed.  

My concern about attaching a line near the water line, is that your water line changes with different conditions and weight, etc.  I know there have been several times, especially in rough conditions that the bow of my boat is breaking and cutting waves, unfortunately sometimes over the bow.  That being said, I want my boat to be as clean and efficient as possible when cutting through the water. If I were to  do this I wouldn't do it more than a couple inches below the gunnel.  

But, "differnent strokes for different folks"  Good luck, I hope it works for your desired purpose.

Mine are permanent.  I could untie them if I really needed another 15-40' of rope.
Tied to the carry handles, but a point like tugeyes provides would be better placement.
I have bungies on my decks to keep them sorted when not in use, one guick tug and they're good to go.
Bowline would not be the best knot as it requires tension to stay tied.  I learned this the hard way and almost lost my canoe down a waterfall.  I've since switche to a double figure-8.

I think painters are actually quite sexy and indicate a smart & prepared tripper.  To me, the least sexy canoe is one that looks like it just left the factory.

Floating rope is best.  Helps keep the lines from getting fouled if/when you dump.

I'm with Wally on this one. I always keep rope readily available and have occasionally just tied it to the handle when I need it but the need is exceptionally rare. Most of the time I want my canoe out of the water when I'm not in it. I wet foot and when I get to shore I pull everything out, put it on shore, then either carry the canoe across the portage or put it next ot the gear, depending on circumstances. It always ends up bugging me on portages when I carry someone elses canoe that has a painter because it always seems to get in the way somehow, though I guess tieing it down better would eliminate that most of the time.
I also agree with whoever it was that mentioned wanting the canoe to slice cleanly through the water. It seems to me, you start getting too close to the water line and you're going to, at least occasionally, be dragging that rope through the water.
All in all, I think a painter is pretty unneccessary regardless of how it's attatched.

grizzlylarso wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 6:03pm:

All in all, I think a painter is pretty unneccessary regardless of how it's attatched.

Until you need it.  Then perhaps you need it in the same way you may need a spare paddle.  Instantly.

If all one ever does is fairweather flatwater paddling then they only really need it when not paddling.

I know of two people who didn't tie their canoe up and it was blown away stranding the paddlers.

I have run both no painter boats and boats with painters that are high in the shear; never dumped a boat on a "tug"...I also have played around with a adhesives in boats only to learn that sooner than later they fail because of the dissimilar qualities invovled and the oxidation processes...

If an apparatus for getting the painters is below the waterline in the shear; which they say is the best place for a painters because of center of gravity concerns...they it will leak....I dont think a boat manufacturer will install them during the lay up process because of the hassle and weigh factors, even though that would be IMHO the most durable and would actually strengthen the stem and shear at the waterline-a more appropriate whitewater concern.

Seem like a bit of money, X 2, for the "tougheyes"....I wonder what  Macgyver would do; especially if he wanted to "lock" that composite boat. Chop matt and resin is pretty cheep and I know most good hardware stores have a decent selection of trim grommets. Just sayin

marlin55388 wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 6:35pm:

... Seem like a bit of money, X 2, for the "tougheyes"....I wonder what  Macgyver would do; especially if he wanted to "lock" that composite boat. Chop matt and resin is pretty cheep and I know most good hardware stores have a decent selection of trim grommets. Just sayin

I think most people go to Home Depot if they don't have the pipe. And depending on the canoe getting vinylester or epoxy would be the big thing (Imean finding it) for how little you'd need. I don't think it would be good placed down to low like in the water, but just above the waterline should be good enough. To high does contribute to less manuverability and possible capsize. I never worried about it. The whole lining thing is a skill needed if your doing rivers and the BW and Q have portages in most places anyway. Solo canoes might be another story. I think it would be to tippy no matter where the line was. I do the wet foot thing where I might line a tandem if I couldn't portage. Especially after hearing DD's experiances this past year.

marlin55388 wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 6:35pm:

Seem like a bit of money, X 2, for the "tougheyes"....I wonder what  Macgyver would do; especially if he wanted to "lock" that composite boat. Chop matt and resin is pretty cheep and I know most good hardware stores have a decent selection of trim grommets. Just sayin

No doubt, Marlin, this could be done more cheaply.  A piece of 1/2" PVC pipe would do the trick glued with something like 3M Urethane Adhesive. But the Tugeye system will likely give a much cleaner, more professional looking finish.  From my perspective, if I'm going to make this kind of modification to a $3000 canoe I don't mind spending 25 bucks to ensure a clean job.

I think if I was just paddling in Quetico I might not bother installing these Tugeyes and just tie off on the lifting thwarts but as I'm getting more adventurous and heading into Wabakimi, Woodland Caribou and other such venues  I feel like I need to be as well prepared as possible for unforseen situations.

The notion that running a painter at the bow above the water line would somehow obstruct the canoe's ability to cut cleanly through the water seems a bit far fetched.  I mean it might make a difference but I doubt that it could be detected except by the most subtle instrumentation.  Naturally if the painter is hanging out in the water it would be problematic but I'm assuming that anyone that goes to the trouble to install a Tugeye type set up would have created some kind of bungee holder in the deck that would keep the painter clear and collected.

The Tug-eye was pulling out of my Robroy.  It was installed between the hull and the deck and over the years it had created a slot which was approaching the front of the boat.  I drilled a hole that a G-10 tubing like the one listed below would fit in.
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I let it stick out each side about 1/8 inch.  I then cut two 1.5 square inch of 1/16 G-10 sheets (Actually a old PC board) and then drilled holes in the center of then for the pipe.  I then epoxied then to the hull over the pipes.  When the epoxy had set I filed the tubes down until they were almost flush with the G-10 plates.  A little paint and it is water tight and stronger than original.

wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 10:33pm:

The Tug-eye was pulling out of my Robroy.  It was installed between the hull and the deck and over the years it had created a slot which was approaching the front of the boat.  I drilled a hole that a G-10 tubing like the one listed below would fit in.   (You need to Login or Register  and search for 8527K152 I let it stick out each side about 1/8 inch.  I then cut two 1.5 square inch of 1/16 G-10 sheets (Actually a old PC board) and then drilled holes in the center of then for the pipe.  I then epoxied then to the hull over the pipes.  When the epoxy had set I filed the tubes down until they were almost flush with the G-10 plates.  A little paint and it is water tight and stronger than original.

Mmmm ... that's troubling to hear.  Why do you think what happened to the tugeye set up won't happen to your new system? - it seems like except for the flanges it's pretty much the same thing.

This is what I used.

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Perko through hull bilge fitting. I used a flat rubber washer to seal it. Fitting-rubber washer-hull-rubber washer-locking nut. I used surgical tubing to connect the two fittings inside the hull. It is flexible and self sealing on the fitting barbs.

3.50 per fitting 20 cents per washer. Not a whole lot less than what the kit costs.

I also use the clear plastic tube around the the whole rope loop. Much easier on the hands and my fishing hooks / lure hooks don't get caught in bare rope. (nothing worse than having 3 of your beat lures hanging from the front of your boat when it comes tome to set up camp) :-[

wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 10:33pm:

The Tug-eye was pulling out of my Robroy.  It was installed between the hull and the deck and over the years it had created a slot which was approaching the front of the boat.  I drilled a hole that a G-10 tubing like the one listed below would fit in.   (You need to Login or Register  and search for 8527K152 I let it stick out each side about 1/8 inch.  I then cut two 1.5 square inch of 1/16 G-10 sheets (Actually a old PC board) and then drilled holes in the center of then for the pipe.  I then epoxied then to the hull over the pipes.  When the epoxy had set I filed the tubes down until they were almost flush with the G-10 plates.  A little paint and it is water tight and stronger than original.

McMaster Carr, now that is a hardware store. :o

;D When most of your solo trips are with a tandem canoe, you line more than most I guess. ;)

I agree that for lining something closer to the waterline is preferable. I (basically) just wrap the painter around the boat on the down stream end. That leaves a rope on the bottom of the hull but it's tight to it and I'm more comfortable with that than the tippy aspect. For the upstream rope I just use the grab handle. That's the finesse line anyway.

Do those who have tugeye type holes use them as everyday painter locations or just for special situations like lining? Do you revert to the grab handles so you don't have to untie and retie for every portage?

As Preacher already mentioned, a bowline is great when stressed but that ease of untying makes it better suited for temporary situations like actually using the tugeye. It's not a tie it and forget it knot. What I think works better for painter to handle is a fixed loop used as a larks head. Easy on easy off and I find folding causes far less tangles than coiling.

I use my painters a lot. I'd be uncomfortable w/o them. At put-ins I'll at least toss one up on shore so if my boat somehow gets away from me as I'm loading, the rope gives me 20 feet of second chances.

"Do those who have tugeye type holes use them as everyday painter locations or just for special situations like lining? Do you revert to the grab handles so you don't have to untie and retie for every portage?"

"As Preacher already mentioned, a bowline is great when stressed but that ease of untying makes it better suited for temporary situations like actually using the tugeye. It's not a tie it and forget it knot. What I think works better for painter to handle is a fixed loop used as a larks head. Easy on easy off and I find folding causes far less tangles than coiling."

I keep the painters on the boat until I'm done with the trip - if the boat has a tugey or if I've tied to the carry handle.  I've never bothered to do the bungee cord thru the deckplate thing - all I do is make a skein coil of the painter for portaging - a short coil, maybe 10" or so long, and it dangles from the bow maybe a foot or so (I don't use a painter on the stern for lake tripping).  So far, haven't had any issues with it catching on anything.

I have never had any of my bowline knots untie.  I agree that just a bowline can come undone easily, which is one of its better features, but I always have a tail long enough to tie a double fisherman's knot around the loop made by the bowline, as a safety/backup knot.  No way that will ever come undone til I want it to ( and I've tied it that way hundreds of times in climbing anchors, and the occasional use of a "bowline on  a coil" for a tie-in)