16 replies to this topic

[SereneSpeed]

We have put this off for over a year now, but it's time to install our anchor roller. I'm nervous about this because there are so many ways we can go about it and I would like to feel that I made the right compromises once it is done.

Please share your thoughts.

Here are the 'givens':
- 25lb Delta
- Lewmar roller
- Mounted on the bow
- DIY

I am thinking of mounting the roller as seen in the attached pictures. I am planning to laminate a sheet of fiberglass ~3/16" thick that runs from the hawse pipe most of the length of the roller itself, then glue an oak 1x3 to that and cover it in fiberglass to laminate it to the 3/16 base. In my mind, the base is so I can spread the load over a larger area of the deck. I will add a large FG backing plate under the deck in the anchor locker. The roller will lay where there is currently a bow cleat. I would like to use at least one of those holes through the stem plate, to attach the roller and a few through bolts further aft through the deck. My plan is to match the curvature of the deck to the FG support structure and bed the whole thing using Butyl tape so that the installation is not permanent.

Thoughts?

Also, I'm not at all happy about losing one of my bow cleats... But I can't keep hauling the anchor without a roller, so I need to do something. Any thoughts as to what I can use to properly secure a docking line to that side after the roller is installed?

I think I can use a bridle at my dock, but, we travel...

Thanks for your time and collective wisdom,

Daniel

Two more pictures...

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[Bob Perry]

The oak seems overkill. A good backing plate should be enough.

[CyberBOB]

As for losing the cleat, you must have a big cleat/samson post up there for your anchor line. You could "replace" the cleat by using that, and having chocks installed at the toe rail.

[SailAR]

Is the issue that you want a place to stow the anchor? or that you need a roller for hauling up the anchor and chain without beating up the boat?

If the latter, the Concordia I used to sail on had a roller with guide attached towards the top of the bow pulpit support. When setting or retrieving the anchor, we just put the anchor shank on the roller and it kept it off the hull and provided a fair lead. I'll see if I can find a pic.

[hard aground]

If you aren't in a huge rush I'll take a couple pics of the anchor roller on my C&C 27 on Friday night. Looks a bit similiar to your setup. I can also tell you what sucks about my setup too.

[SereneSpeed]

Bob:
I'm not always comfortable taking advice from 'some guy on the interwebz', but you seem like you might know a little about these boats... no more oak.

SailAR:
Both. We have a newborn and space below decks is now at a premium. We anchor out almost every weekend and lugging the anchor forward and lock-wiring the shackle gets tiresome (and feels risky sometimes). I'm also not a fan of hauling the anchor without a roller, the angles just don't work in a way that my spine likes.

hard aground:
That would be great - thanks.

[sculpin]

I put one on my boat. Big backing plates, and I used some wedge shaped pieces of Starboard to match up between the deck and the roller. I have no concerns with the backing plates as they are bigger than the backing plates that are installed on the cleat the anchor is tied off to.

The oak may be overkill, but at a minimum you need to have something to line things up so there are not gaps between the roller and the deck. Edit though, looking at your pic - is the roller going to be pretty much entirely on the plate? Bolt it on, backing plates, done.

[hard aground]

Okay, here's what I have:



The anchor that sits on it is a 25lb CQR. I, however don't spend very much time on the hook so my "ready to use" anchor is the 8lb Danforth in the cockpit locker. I just have the single bow cleat unlike yours, but when you add your roller it would seem likely that you are going to possibly do the same thing. I don't like how my dock line crosses the roller, but haven't been able to sort out something better. Roller is backed by big washers. The other thing to watch for is wether the roller or the anchor on the roller will interfere with having your nav light being able to be seen. Mine is a bit sketchy when the anchor is on the roller.

[Solen]

My original anchor roller fell off after the bolts fatigued and broke off, this on our maiden voyage bringing her home. I am now in a similar situation of having to install a (better) roller. that will hold the current 30# anchor and a larger one down the road.

My specifications have evolved to this:

The longest stem possible with minimal overhang to avoid the anchor having enough leverage to wear out / break anything.

Zero play between roller stem and the deck - no flex - no movement (no rubber either)
- this means building a level base for the stem using epoxy and if needed G10 composite board

No play in the deck core
- this means to drill out over sized bolt holes and back filling with epoxy

A backing plate under the deck with no flex or play
- this means setting the backing plate in epoxy

Similar metal in the whole sandwich
- this mean over-drilling the aluminum (white/grey cast metal) stem fitting and back filling w. epoxy i my case doing the same if I reach the aluminum rail in the hull-deck joint

Point the bracket toward the right spot for my windlass
- which I will add later (when my ship comes in)

Maybe it is a good thing that I have no good way to retrieve and remove the broken-off bolts because it would be a lot easier to just buy a replacement for the one that broke off.

[Moonduster]

For christ sakes, pull off the stem fitting, take it to a decent machine shop and have them build a suitable bow roller into it. Bolting those stupid things on to a boat just makes the whole bow look like it was assembled out of some random parts found at the the local yacht club flee market. Have a little pride!

[sculpin]

For christ sakes, pull off the stem fitting, take it to a decent machine shop and have them build a suitable bow roller into it. Bolting those stupid things on to a boat just makes the whole bow look like it was assembled out of some random parts found at the the local yacht club flee market. Have a little pride!

Dude, I have lots of pride in my boat. But the quote I got to build me a nice stem fitting with built-in roller was something like $1800. Yes, it would have looked awesome, but my budget isn't unlimited I decided I'd rather use that money on hatches that don't leak.

Boy is it easy to advise other people to spend their money...

[Beau.Vrolyk]

Serene,

My first thought about the mooring line is to just shackle it to the bow roller. If it's strong enough to hold the boat in a blow on the hook it might be strong enough to serve as a mount for a mooring line.

As I've said elsewhere, if you're anchoring shorthanded it's almost always easier to anchor from the stern and then walk the anchor line around to the bow if you want to lie bow-to-the-breeze. If I ever put a roller on S'agapo it'll be on the stern when I can get at easily from the cockpit and where the anchor rope can be lead to the primary winch.

BV

[jacrider]

Serene: I used to have a similar boat. When I needed to add an anchor roller, I used one by Kingston Anchor that bolted to the stem of the boat and was offset to the stbd side. It had a pin to hold the anchor in place. No loss of any functionality on the deck. You only need about a 15 pound anchor on a CS27, so the load isn't too bad.

http://www.kingstonanchors.com/

Navigate to find the BR-1

Easy install.

[slugmasterp]

jacrider, I came in late on this post but I'm having the same problems with a crowded foredeck with nowhere to put a bow roller. I saw your post on the Kingston BR-1. I'm worried that it won't be able to take as much weight as a normal roller and does it really stay out of the way of the forestay? Do you just drill the holes off to the side? I'd love for it to work on my boat (Tartan 30). Are you still happy with it?

[sailSAK]

I have to agree with moonduster that these bolt on rollers really don't do a lot for looks or even function. Seen some pretty fugly setups, some of which clearly did not work for anything other than for anchor stowage. Make sure you get the one with the flared out end at least! On the otherhand I am not sure I would ever combine a anchor roller and stem fitting except if it was a steel or aluminum hull. I had a combo cranse iron/anchor roller when I bought the Rawson that was suffering crevice corrosion. I can only imagine that the stress of an anchor pulling in ever direction, wet salty mud and galvanized metal chafing against the thing did not help the situation! Additionally, even though people should know better by now, I have seen at least a couple boats 'towed' by BoatUS or the USCG that were dismasted when salvage crews attached tow lines to the stem. Having a 'beefy' looking anchor setup combined with your rig could only improve chances of this practice being applied to your vessel in similar situations. On my O'Day (back in my early years of boat ownership) I tackled the problem by building a faux bowsprit and putting the roller on the end of that. It did not extent past the pulpit so it did not increase slip fees. This got the anchor away from the gelcoat, did not involve the rig, and ended up giving me a really nice handhold on the foredeck. Additionally it served as reinforcement for the bow cleat, and for a inner forestay I used for the storm jib. It was made with two pieces of mahagony, laminated with west system. I routered out shallow slots between the two pieces where I installed several layers of glass tape. The thing was pretty stout and worked quite well. Huge improvement in functionality and I don't think it looked too bad. Being a novice I did nothing to the rig and simply made a slot for the stem fitting to go through. This was probably the most amateur looking feature to the thing but it never received and dockside criticism or scrutiny. If it did ever get ripped off I figured it would break here and not hurt the rig any.

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[slugmasterp]

I like the idea of the faux bowsprit. I ordered one of the stem plate rollers to see how it lines up and how beefy it seems to be. I might return it depending on how it looks. It scares me to mess with any part of the rigging but man it seems like it would be an easy install. From the diagram off of the manufactures website it seems that if you really bolted it into the bow it could hold quite a bit of weight. I added a picture of it. Any opinions on it? I've never seen them on any boats, makes me leery.

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[Ishmael]

I may be missing something here, but the geometry looks all wrong to me.