Anchor Roller

Finished fabricating and installing the anchor roller... It took a little trial and error to get the geometry right. We made a mock-up of the roller frame and the anchor out of plywood and used this to try different angles and roller locations. Had to make sure that the anchor launched ok, cleared the stem and the bow of the boat,  and locked into the roller assembly without any free-play when it was pulled all the way in. Once we had the geometry figured out, we made the real thing out of 3/4" 316 Stainless side-plates, with a 1/2" x 4" Stainless flatbar center piece. This forms an I- beam and is very strong. The whole assembly was welded to the foredeck and bow plating. The bail (the part that keeps the chain from jumping out of the roller and side-plates) is bent from a 3/8 x 3" Stainless flatbar. Finally, we used some 3/4" Stainless round-bar to trim the opening in the bow. I don't have the patience or the inclination to polish any of the stainless on the boat to mirror finish, so I went with a bead-blast, brushed finish- similar to the bitts and fair-leads. Finished by hauling the real anchor (Rocna 55, 120lbs) up from the ground to the stowed position in the roller and all seemed to work fine. Next project...