Anchor Roller install tight fit no bowsprit

[CPH]

So I may have leaped before I thought.
I just purchased a 45lb. Mantus anchor to use on my standard rig/ no bowsprit 1978 Catalina 30. I know the anchor is oversized but I am thinking that I may move up to a larger Catalina in next few years and was thinking this anchor might follow me onto that boat, not to mention the extra peace of mind in the meantime. Anyhow, now that I see the new anchor in person I am thinking that some type of bow anchor roller is needed (my boat has none), but when I went to go take measurements things look REALLY tight! I had seen a long anchor roller (looks like a windline CRM-1) that Catalina Direct sells as a replacement to the short roller that some C30's equipped with but after looking at my boat more closely I can't see how that would possibly work. I will post some pictures tonight to show what I am up against more clearly but essentially the two forward posts of the bow pulpit meet the deck only a few inches back of the forestay deck-plate. Has anybody else rigged some type of anchor roller for a standard rig C30 of this era? Thoughts?
I'll post pictures to clarify as soon as I can.

 

[CPH]

Pics

So here are some pictures that I took that will help illustrate what I am working with. One thought that I had was to try and make a raised platform for the anchor roller out of teak or synthetic that would allow me to mount right up to the pulpit post by clearing the 3" round mounting plates at the bottom of the posts. I might even gain a 1/2" or so due the post angling outwards. I am going to take some wood scraps down to the boat this week along with a wood cutout of the anchor profile and mess around to see if I can get any ideas. Suggestions???

 

[Scotty C-M]

Check out the Catalina 34 International Association. They have quite a bit of information about bow rollers and anchors. I know that the 30 has different dimensions than the 34, but you might find the ideas will help. Good luck on your project. Try these:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7444.0.html
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5336.0.html

 

[CPH]

Thanks for the links Scotty, I had seen some of that information already but it led me to a few photos that I hadn't seen which give me hope. The C34 definitely has more room at the bow but I may be able to mount a shorter roller in front of the pulpit mounts as in Ron Hill's install. I'll have to check what kind of accessibility I have that far forward and how thick the deck is, if the anchor roller is fixed to such a short amount of surface area I want to make sure it's well supported.

 

[Admiral]

Are you going to fabricate and install a windless?

 

[CPH]

Are you going to fabricate and install a windless?

I'm not planning to. I have ordered a small-ish anchor roller that I am going to mount just in front of the pulpit posts and an anchor keeper with a pin that will be mounted just forward of the anchor locker to secure the anchor on deck. Fingers crossed this configuration will work out as planned.

As far as installing a windlass, thats more complication and money then I am inclined to deal with right now. My anchoring will be in the relative shallows and soft bottoms of the Chesapeake without any great length of chain to deal with so the weight should be manageable for me. When I find the time one project that I would like to do however is add a raw water wash-down system in the anchor locker to deal with the sticky mud we get caked on chain and anchors around here.

 

[Piratenorm]

If I could figure out how to send pictures I'd include the one of my anchor roller I designed and had made for my 1983 Mk 1 30. None of the ones avail. from Lewmar would work next to the teenie anchor roller Catalina had put on the boat at the factory due to space constraints, all the rollers long enough came too wide. Essentially the stock roller went off right of centre so my new bigger one needed to go left, with the chainplate for the roller furling jib between them. I made it large enough to support a 33 lb Bruce anchor. Made it out of two plates of S.S. laser cut welded to a base plate. I brought the entire unit back tight against the pushpit mounting plates and through bolted it to a stressor plate I made that ran under the entire anchor locker fore to aft to incorporate my Lewmar Pro 1000 windlass, chain stopper and the anchor roller as one entire unit. 5200 the beejesus out of everything. Split the anchor locker door 2/3s, 1/3 so I can gain access to the chain and voila, one confidence project completed. As you aren't doing the windlass you could do the same with your new larger roller, through bolt it into a backing plate underneath in the anchor locker all the way back to the pushpit as there is enough room under the nose to allow this.
But please note: A large anchor isn't the right solution, a better choice would be to use a 25 lb Delta, Manson or Rocna and More Chain! It's the chain that keeps the anchor, um, anchored by keeping the shank down and the flukes pointing down where they can bite into the bottom. Too little chain and in a big blow your boat could actually pull the shank up, dislodging the flukes and breaking you free. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Piratenorm]

Let's see if I managed to upload this picture, thanks to advice from Centerline. The stressor (or backing) plate I had made was 3/16 aluminum about 6" wide and bolts under the anchor lid door from the rear of the hatch all the way to the point of the bow. I did have to cut a notch to get around the pulpit bolts. Hope this helps.

 

[jonelli]

I thought I would post what I have on my 1987 mkII. It came with the boat.
Here's a picture, I don't know if it helps anybody or not...

 

[jrowan]

Let's see if I managed to upload this picture, thanks to advice from Centerline. The stressor (or backing) plate I had made was 3/16 aluminum about 6" wide and bolts under the anchor lid door from the rear of the hatch all the way to the point of the bow. I did have to cut a notch to get around the pulpit bolts. Hope this helps.

Nice windless set up. I've thought about doing this as well, but wondered how it would all fit in the tight bow of the C 30. How much battery power do you need to run the windless?