Anchor Roller DE38 General Forum Forums

mgav451

So, here's the things you need to know.

• My bowsprit isn't original, I replaced it w/ a custom made one.
• The original had a break in the teak platform midway through the sprit to allow for the anchor to drop out.
• I changed the design to keep the anchor from hitting the whisker stay to go to the very end of the sprit.

The big challenge (and the mistake I made) was that in my original configuration the anchor would just jam on my platform because the roller was simply not far enough forward.  So when I revised my roller design I took the following approach:

• Used the horizontal sections of it to ensure that the bow pulpit had a solid attachment point to the sprit (hence the little wings on the side).
• Provided a sufficient vertical portion which allows the anchor chain to stay in place when weighing/dropping anchor (ie not skip off the roller).
• Include a pin I can easily insert or remove to keep the anchor from flying free when underway and holing the boat.

What you see is a bit of a convoluted design, but manages to accommodate all three.  I had to do it on a bit of faith because the first time I actually had tested the design was after I built it and fixed it on the boat.  It works well, though and lets me drop/weigh anchor pretty effortlessly.  The only issue I have is that if the pin isn't inserted when I weigh anchor, the anchor is just the right size to jam.  I suspect this would be fixed with either a bigger or smaller anchor.

Yeah, that's what my original sprit did and that's why I went to the tip of the sprit.

Another thing with putting out to the end of the sprit is the further out you put it, the more stress you're putting on the deck joints which makes the need for an anchor bridle that much more necessary.