Mr. Red, that's center of lateral resistance--just to be pedantic. And yes, "is" is correct about bollards.

The bowline [line] attaches to the sail by either a spliced in line on the weather leech or a rigid piece of wood [I have seen it] directly on the weather leech. In either case, the purpose of the intermediate between the bowline and the sail is to dissipate the strain on the leech. And yes, you do use a bowline knot at that end of the bowline.