attachment options for an anchor roller for H-31

[John Blakely]

I have an 85 Hunter 31. I will be putting a 24" Gauhauer anchor roller on my bow. I would like to attach it with backing plates and thru deck bolting but cannot find an access to the under deck area there. Does anyone know if I can cut a hole either thru the anchor locker or from the vee berth liner inside the boat to gain access for backing plates? Anyone know if the bow area under the bow plate is solid or hollow? I realize that I can and may have to, drill holes in the bow plate and tap bolts into the bow plate. Thanks for your help with this. John Blakely

 

[John K Kudera]

Are you sure?

That adding a 24" anchor roller is a good idea? I am not an engineer, but I do not think there is enough space to mount the roller in front of the anchor locker without adequate bracing from the outboard end of the roller to the bow of the boat. there is tremendus pressure from the weight of the boat while anchored, especially if the seas are not calm. Good luck!

 

[Steve Dion]

John!

Have you thought about trying to use the existing bolts for the toe rail? I am not sure that this would give you the correct angle but may give you more support and much easier to install.

 

[John Blakely]

response to Steve and John re:Anchor Roller attach

John and Steve, thank you for your input. Actually there is room in front of the anchor locker to fit the roller with about 6" of overhang - just enough to keep a plough or delta from banging into the bow. I can use at least one of the existing bow plate mounting bolts. My concern is whether there is access somehow under the bow plate to mount backing plates or if Hunter may have imbeded a mounting plate in the fiberglass bow when it was manufactured. I think they did this under other high stress points on the boat such as winches and cabin top travelers. If so this would allow me just to tap in threads for a SS bolt system to provide adequate mounting. I may be asking a question that doesn't have a ready answer or one I need to address to the Hunter engineers. If anyone has mounted a bow roller to their H-31 and it has held under trying cirumstances, would you let me know your method of attachment? much thanks for your help.John Blakely

 

[Tim Leighton]

I HAVE ONE

John: About 8 years ago I installed an anchor roller on my 85 '31 to support a DELTA anchor. I don't have the particulars here at home but will be at the boat today and I'll pick up the paperwork and post what I did here.  In short, I also used one (1) of the bow plate/toe rail bolts but wound up drilling 3 other holes for additional bolts. Space up in front of the anchor locker was too tight to use a bolt, so I used a stainless version of the butterfly bolts you use to hang pictures. I apologize, but I can't remember what their name was. Oh yea, I also added lots of goop to the bottom of the new roller when I put it in place (more to provide waterproofing than for support). It was a bitch job, but has worked fine for me for the whole time, although I'm still trying to figure out a practical system to secure the anchor and still allow easy release in an emergency. The saga continues..... My boat is located in Norfolk (Naval Base marina), so if you are near here and want to see it, I'd be glad to show you what I did. Contact me at the e-mail address below if you want. Good luck! Tim L. (S/V "TIDE")TIDETIM@AOL.COM

 

[Forrest B True]

Bow anchor roller h31

John: I used one of the toerail bolts and tapped into the stainless steel plate. Did this when I bought my h31 new in 88. Never have I had any troublewith it and the installation took about30 minutes. I have a 25lb plow and secure the chain with an anchor lock from West Marine, $25.00.