Why are anchor rollers so darn small? I would think that to maximize mechanical advantage they should be at least 4 or 5 inches in diameter, instead of 2 inches. It would be easier to pull up all that chain with a larger roller.
And what is all that other stuff on the bow, Steve? (Thanks for the pic, by the way) I recognize the strapping for jack lines. I also see a little ant bridge - that piece of line from the left pulpit to the furler spool. The black wire-looking thing on the right that leads down into the locker is intriguing, too.
I will report back on the bow construction maybe next week. I can only stand the suspense a little longer.
That's a very seaman-like solution, though. How do you tie a rolling hitch?
After all this discussion no one has yet answered Craig's orginal question about the bow construction!
As for a rolling hitch, you can find a good description of how to tie one here:
http://www.apparent-wind.com/knots/rolling-hitch/
As for all the junk on my bow. Well, the black wire runs from a 12V outlet in the anchor locker up to one of those Davis LED anchor lights that I hung near the bow each night. I suspended the light on a line that ran from the forestay back to the genny sheets. It wasn't the brightest light in the anchorage, but it was 6 feet off the deck and very visible to passing boats.
The short length of line at the base of the starboard bow pulpit support is the line I used to tie to the shank of the Bruce anchor to hold it in place while underway. The black webbing is the jack line, and the black three stand going forward from the webbing to the forestay was an attempt to support the bow end of the jack line (later re-engineered).
Not sure what an "ant bridge" is supposed to be, but that short length of line on port leading from the pulpit is a tether for the retaining "safety snap" pin that I use to lock the Harken furling drum whenever I leave the boat. When sailing I stored the retaining pin on the pulpit, but figured the tether was a good idea to keep from dropping it overboard.