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.