• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Anchor hardware options?

Hi folks,

I'm in need of advice on how to best tackle the lack of anchor hardware on the bow. I assume it wouldn't be too difficult to remove the current lights and install some lights up on the bow pulpit.

But the raised deck right at the tip really ramps up the difficulty level for being able to install an anchor roller.

I'd appreciate any and all advice & suggestions.

20140609_132823.jpg
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I have a nice-looking ss bow roller installed by the factory. Fact is, I don't anchor much, but when I have I have found the roller rig a disappointment.

Even if you install a custom bow roller over your lip, it will likely not be strong enough for hard winching on a stuck anchor. Mine has hairline gelcoat cracks despite being through-bolted securely. The lever arm, even though quite short, strains the connection to the deck.

I have found that dealing with a 35-pound anchor "out there" on the 4-inch roller is very awkward, simply because--as your photo shows--there is no spare room in that pointy zone of pulpit, forestay, and roller drum. If the rode/chain hangs up or gets off the roller, it's difficult to deal with--even in a flat calm. I only have 35 feet of chain, but that's heavy and if the anchor is stuck it doesn't stretch, and the buoyancy force of even small waves on the roller is large.

The answer is a robust roller with a windlass and chain locker. Not a common solution on our smaller Ericsons.

So, the easiest way for me to deal with anchoring is to lower and retrieve the anchor over the starboard bow. My aluminum rubrail there is scarred from pulling chain over it. In a seaway, there is simply no way to daintily stand and retrieve the chain hand over hand like it was a pearl necklace. There's no available winch without rigging snatch blocks. You sometimes need to rest the chain against the rub rail. I plan someday to install a piece of oak to protect the rubrail from the chain.

Anyway, I find it all awkward and the bow roller not much of a solution. Furthermore, unless you rig a bridle, the boat is attached to only one cleat, which is sure not the equivalent of a sampson post.

I hope someone has a better way of anchoring our pointy boats.
 
Last edited:
So, the easiest way for me to deal with anchoring is to lower and retrieve the anchor over the starboard bow. My aluminum rubrail there is scarred from pulling chain over it. In a seaway, there is simply no way to daintily stand and retrieve the chain hand over hand like it was a pearl necklace. There's no available winch without rigging snatch blocks. You sometimes need to rest the chain against the rub rail. I plan someday to install a piece of oak to protect the rubrail from the chain.

That's exactly how I deal with the anchor, Christian, and what I'm trying to grow out of. My anchor, however, at 12 lbs is much smaller than yours. It doesn't take much to hold the boat on Lake Pepin.

I wonder if a front roller would work alright for me, since my anchor is so light?
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Hi,
We anchor out alot on our E30+ and love our bow roller! We are on the west coast and have anchored in 30 knot blows using our bow roller. I have also had a stuck anchor on a couple of occasions, which I was able to free by motoring forward slowly til the mud or whatever let go.

We have a 22 lb. Bruce anchor with 30 feet of chain and 240 feet of 1/2" line. We don't have a windlass, so we haul by hand, sometimes a bit tiring but certainly doable.

So don't give up on the bow roller, especially with your lighter anchor.

Frank
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Anchoring Solutions

The bow roller on my 34 is intergrated with the forestay and caries down the front of the bow with large bolts. There are no problems with this system. The roller system may be custom. I don't have a windlass so raising the 35 pounder is hard. I use a primary until the chain is on the deck.

Bob Morrison
Terra Nova\
 

Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Bow roller solution.

Dear friend, I too faced a similar problem when trying to fit a 22# Bruce anchor to the bow of our, then 1979 Ericson 25+. I ended up buying a WIndline anchor roller similar to this one currently listed on eBay: 321222111232 After removing both running lights and locating an Aqua Signal bi-light on the pulpit, I mounted the roller on a slight angle off center, to the starboard. I used a large piece of teak block under the tail end of the roller and through bolted the whole thing with a big backing plate at the aft end. I mounted the Aqua Signal light using their rail mount accessory as can be seen here: http://www.westmarine.com/aqua-sign...series-25-navigation-lights--P009_277_001_537. It all worked like a champ and I never thought it was vulnerable to the loads it saw when anchored. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA
 

endorphin

New Member
Stern to!

Going to the "pointy end" isn't something I do often. My roller furler solved the sail issue. Anchoring "stern to" solved the anchoring issue, at least in the calm waters I anchor in. I rig a bridle using both stern cleats on my E27 :egrin:and stash my anchor and rode under my helm seat. Makes for much cooler nights since the main hatch faces the breeze and I stay in the cockpit while anchoring.
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Yup, been there. This is what I did on my E-27. Pictures speak better than words.
 

Attachments

  • BowRoller.jpg
    BowRoller.jpg
    36 KB · Views: 80
  • P1010001_3.jpg
    P1010001_3.jpg
    60.9 KB · Views: 70
  • P1010002_3.jpg
    P1010002_3.jpg
    75.2 KB · Views: 74
  • P1010003_3.jpg
    P1010003_3.jpg
    60.3 KB · Views: 74

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
Jeff, Did you make a box below for the anchor rode? How about a drain. Wish I has a chain locker.
 
Going to the "pointy end" isn't something I do often. My roller furler solved the sail issue. Anchoring "stern to" solved the anchoring issue, at least in the calm waters I anchor in. I rig a bridle using both stern cleats on my E27 :egrin:and stash my anchor and rode under my helm seat. Makes for much cooler nights since the main hatch faces the breeze and I stay in the cockpit while anchoring.

That's very interesting, endorphin. Do you have any pics of this bridle? I store the rode and anchor under the helm seat, too.
 

davisr

Member III
This was how I did it.
 

Attachments

  • 004.jpg
    004.jpg
    50 KB · Views: 44
  • 003.jpg
    003.jpg
    47.9 KB · Views: 33
  • 002.JPG
    002.JPG
    100.9 KB · Views: 44
  • 001.jpg
    001.jpg
    60 KB · Views: 56

davisr

Member III
http://www.ericson25.com/2012/11/companionway-hatch-construction-part-i.html

Wow, that's impressive, davisr!

What kind of wood is that, and are those two pieces glued together, or is that really one thick piece?

Thanks for the compliments Minnesota Slick. The wood is ribbon stripe mahogany. Snobs might scoff that this is simply sapele mahogany and not true Honduran. To me, there is very little difference. Yes, this is one solid piece. I shaped it with various tools, including an angle grinder and the Dremel pictured.

The link above is to an article I wrote where I discuss sapele.

Roscoe
 

adam

Member III
This was how I did it.

That looks one heck of a lot like the one I built. Except I mounted it reverse of what you did, and now have an anchor platform. It was a lot of work, but I love how it changed the lines of the boat.

attachment.php
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Jeff, Did you make a box below for the anchor rode? How about a drain. Wish I has a chain locker.

There is a anchor compartment below in the fore peak, in front of the V berth below the hawse pipe. Most E-27's have this. Not sure if there is a drain or not. When I haul anchor, I first collect the road, when I get to the 40' of chain, I have a plastic bucket that I put the chain into. Then I slowly feed the chain from the bucket and rode down into the hawse pipe. I never quite understood why the E-27's did not come with a deck anchor locker. When I get back to port, I pull all the chain and rode back out, rinse with fresh water, then stuff it back down the hawse pipe. Part of why I get a mooring at Catalina, more often than not.
 
Last edited:

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
I get it Jeff. That compartment at the bow drains to the bilge. Earlier this year I was thinking of fashioning a fiberglass box to receive the rode and maybe have it drain to one side through the hull. Then I thought about ow much work that would be. Maybe later. Maybe much later... if at all. Wonder if anyone else has done this?
 

adam

Member III
I get it Jeff. That compartment at the bow drains to the bilge.

I'm not sure that it does.

Here's how my E29 is built. There's a fore compartment with an access door in front of the V-berth. That's now used as my chain locker.

Behind that, and under the front of the V-berth there's another compartment and it (as the boat was built) has no drain, and I believe was designed to serve as a watertight bulkhead. If, god forbid, you slam into a rock or a shipping container and put a big hole in the front of the boat under the waterline, it will not sink. That small fore compartment will fill with water, but water won't get beyond it, and fill the rest of the boat.

I've added a small drain which leads from that compartment to the bilge so any splashes or rainwater which gets into the chain locker will drain and be pumped out. But it's only a small hole (1/8"?) so that if there's ever a disastrous accident only a small amount of water will go into the bilge.
 

endorphin

New Member
That's very interesting, endorphin. Do you have any pics of this bridle? I store the rode and anchor under the helm seat, too.

No pics but simple to make. Either spice or tie an eye on each end of a ten foot length of the same size line as your anchor rode or larger. Then make a simple overhand loop in the center. Attach the anchor rode at whatever length you need for your water depth.
 
Top