What's with all these crickets
in here?? LOL ... Hope you guys are all out sailing, unlike me! In any
case, here are the vague beginnings of my plan:I
have reinforced the plywood panel in the forepeak with a thick layer of
fiberglass on both sides. It will be permanently glassed to the tabs on
each side of the hull. I've made a cover for the opening in the panel,
which will be gasketed and screwed in place, but removable when access
inside the locker is needed. The bottom of the anchor locker will be
"plugged" securely (exact method to be determined), making the locker
completely water tight, with a through-hull on one side (maybe both
sides) to allow drainage. I'm going to
find a piece of teak, about 4 inches wide by two feet long or so, and
about as thick as the toe rail is tall. I'll shape it and position it on
the foredeck to create a flat, level platform for the anchor roller to
mount on, as far forward as possible and angled to one side of the stem
fitting. I plan to use a 25 pound Mantus anchor, which has a shank which
is about 22 inches long. This will place the end of the shank just
forward of the locker's bulkhead down below, right about where the
forward end of the bow cleat currently is.The bow cleat will have to go, sadly. It will be replaced by cleats on either side of the foredeck.The
existing hawse will disappear, and a much larger one will be installed
right at the end of the anchor shank. I want to be able to gravity-feed
the rode down the hawse quickly and smoothly under adverse conditions. I'm
hoping to find a way to keep the deck fill apparatus operational, by
running a pipe right through the sealed floor of the anchor locker. I'm
not 100% sure how that will be accomplished, but I'm working on it.I'm
simultaneously working on an entirely new electrical system, so this
project may not be completed for quite some time. But I'll post comments
and photos as it progresses.
