Outrage 21 1973 towing eyes

[Mlaibe]

Hi - new to this forum and I’m newly the proud owner of a 1973 Outrage 21 with a 140-HP Evinrude. I have a lot of questions, but at the moment I am trying to visualize how to tow a skier or tube behind this boat. A long time ago I had a Montauk 17 and we used two towing eyes on the transom.

This boat does not seem to have any [towing eyes], and I am contemplating installing them through the transom as far to the left and right of the motor as possible. Since it also has a kicker motor, I can’t see mounting on the outrigger as I have seen done on others. Anything wrong with this approach?

I’d rather not go all-out for a towing post as we will be doing other things like fishing.

Thanks for any advice. I tried searching but didn’t find this info.

[Phil T]

Is your boat a smooth side or a banana?

[Mlaibe]

Is your boat a smooth side or a banana?

It’s a smooth side.

[Phil T]

Larry (LHG) has eyes on the back of his incredible Outrage 21. Given the authenticity of his boats, this is the factory location of the eyes.

Photo from his collection:

Scan_Pic0015.jpg (186.1 KiB) Viewed 6434 times

[Phil T]

Many members have installed a TurboSwing hoop where eyes or a factory tow bar was not an option.

https://turboswing.com

[Mlaibe]

That’s a beauty all right. My boat has a slightly different configuration at the swim step. But I guess I could do similar on one side and attach to the kicker bracket on the other. Thanks!
I have seen pics of rings that look like lifting eyes attached near the tops of the outriggers and wondered how they do that.

[Don McIntyre - MI]

Mlaibe -

Larrys hull is the ribbed model, in the later ones, there was a slight difference in the step. The hull that I renovated had a stainless steel "U" bolt embedded on both sides, above where the circular steering access (it's unused on Larry's) cup is located on the port side.

For skiing, I've just attached a hook, pulley and bridle affair to both stern cleats.

Regards - Don

[Mlaibe]

Thanks for the pointers. Pretty soon it will be warm enough here in Connecticut to work on it. Glad to know that the cleats could do that.

[jimh]

I don't see any evidence that the method for installing towing eyes on an OUTRAGE 21 as used by Larry Goltz is particularly authentic. To me it seems inappropriate. The load on the eyes when used as TOWING eyes is going to be at 90-degrees to their mounting. That is always a BAD DESIGN. The eyes would be subject to a force at 90-degrees, a turning moment. Boston Whaler is not known for providing bad designs in their boat. On the other hand, perhaps this was the best solution for that hull. I don't have any evidence that this is particularly NOT an authentic installation, but it does not seem particularly well-conceived, to me.

A second problem is that Larry Goltz has never towed anything with his OUTRAGE 21. He does not participate in watersports like water skiing or anything similar. In fact, in years of boating with Larry, he never wore swim trunks or even got into the water, never mentioned anything about towing a skier, never showed any interest in water skiing. If you are seeking advice for an installation on an older OUTRAGE 21 involving towing or water sports, Larry is the last person I would use as a source of information.

[jimh]

The hull that I renovated had a stainless steel "U" bolt embedded on both sides...

That sounds like what I would expect from Boston Whaler--towing eyes mounted to the transom.

[jimh]

Glad to know that the cleats could [tolerate the load of a water skier or ther pulling load].

I recommend you check that the cleats are mounted with metal backing plates. On my hull, a 1990 REVENGE 22, the stern cleats do not have backing plates--as least as far as I can tell from reaching into the recess and feeling for any backing material.