Bent stemhead fitting

[skunther]

My stemhead fitting was somehow torqued clockwise by the PO. I’m not sure how. It doesn’t bother me except for the fact that the roller binds, resulting in a significant increase in the load on the windlass when weighing anchor.

I was thinking of torching the twisted sections and torquing counterclockwise with a 6’ bar or a crescent wrench with a cheater to try to straighten it. I don’t want to damage it further though, and have never attempted anything like this. Is my plan a good idea? Or is there a better, less risky way to address the issue?

 

[Timm R Oday25]

"If it were I" , Any twisting ,torquing would be done with the roller removed from the boat . It might be easier to change the angle of the lead.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

If it's this SS rod fitting which holds down the anchor you're looking at :

................. do not, in your wildest imagination, attempt to bend this on your anchor mount. The mount is built to support large forces, just not a torque in this manner.

As per per @Timm R, remove it and bend it in a vice. Do not even try to bend it in place with a backup. Something is sure to go wrong.

 

[LloydB]

It looks like you have two problems a torqued stem fitting and a bow spirit pushed to the port, but it is hard to tell with the anchor at home.

 

[Joe]

The bowsprit was mounted at an angle to clear the forestay and pulpit. Lots of boats have do that. It also looks like some kind of mounting plate was installed where the normal stemhead would be so this bow roller could extend far enough to accommodate the bruce anchor. Again, many boats will have this type of customized placement because they don't have bowsrits. Bruce and other spade type anchors will present this problem to boats without bowsprits the anchor needs to be placed far enough out front to keep from damaging the bow. That cross piece that is bent shouldn't be hard to straighten. I agree it would be safer to remove it and use a vice for the job.

 

[JoeWhite]

If I had to guess how it got bent sideways, I think the anchor rode became wound around the keel while anchored. To fix the problem I would remove the roller and cut about 1/4" off of it and place plastic washers of the same diameter on both sides of the roller to reduce friction and add some lubrication.

 

[capta]

This is one of those times when I would have the job done by a professional. Heating, twisting or however you would choose to do it would probably leave the fitting weakened. You certainly would want to remove the fitting anyway, because it is probable that the bolts holding the fitting are no longer water tight.
While it is off, take it to a machine shop and let them do what's needed to repair it properly.

 

[skunther]

If it's this SS rod fitting which holds down the anchor you're looking at :

View attachment 216100

................. do not, in your wildest imagination, attempt to bend this on your anchor mount. The mount is built to support large forces, just not a torque in this manner.

As per per @Timm R, remove it and bend it in a vice. Do not even try to bend it in place with a backup. Something is sure to go wrong.

The rod is also bent, but the stemhead fitting under the rod is what I am referring to. Ignore the rod and you should see what I am talking about. I assume the rod was distorted as a result of the twisting of the stemhead fitting it is attached to.

 

[skunther]

If I had to guess how it got bent sideways, I think the anchor rode became wound around the keel while anchored. To fix the problem I would remove the roller and cut about 1/4" off of it and place plastic washers of the same diameter on both sides of the roller to reduce friction and add some lubrication.

I will try this. I can live with the stemhead being slightly torqued. It is not very noticeable until you use the windlass and the roller binds. Water is not leaking through the mounting bolts.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I think the bent boom bail (finally remembered the name) is what makes the bow roller look noticeably torqued. Rather than trying to repair the bent boom bail, remove it and buy a new one and your bow should look brand new.

Schaefer Stainless Steel Boom Bail

Schaefer's Stainless Steel boom bail is designed for larger cruisers or racers, and attaches blocks to your boom or boom vangs to your spars. Features: Exceptionally strong heavy duty forged bails, designed for larger cruisers or racers Formed fr

defender.com

There are numerous forms of bails, just pick the one that suits your need and pocket book. The cost of this one is way out in left field but gives you the idea.

 

[skunther]

Thanks @Ralph Johnstone,
While I may replace the bail if/when I decide to sell the boat, it isn’t a concern for me. The problem is the rails that it attaches to (the parts of the stemhead fitting that guide the chain and anchor shank) are torqued, and the roller cannot do its job and roll. The windlass is pulling the chain and rode against the friction of the not spinning roller, straining the windlass more than I like.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The windlass is pulling the chain and rode against the friction of the not spinning roller, straining the windlass more than I like.

Short of removing the whole assembly and repairing, I think @JoeWhite 's idea of reducing the friction is your best bet. Look on Amazon for sheet teflon and cut washers the same diameter as your roller from that. That's as slippery as you can get.

 

[skunther]

I have Teflon sheets (1/16” thick) and plan to fit 2 on either side of the bow roller for reduced friction. However, in order to not screw things up worse, I decided to get a backup bow roller in case the cuts or any of the mod go awry. However, a direct replacement of my bow roller doesn’t seem to exist.
my original bow roller is 2 3/4” diameter and 2 3/4” wide with a 1/2” shaft hole. The chain groove is significantly more worn on one side where the roller binds when weighing anchor.

The closest replacement I’ve been able to find is a Seadog which is 2 15/16” wide and 2 3/4” diameter, but with a copper reinforced 5/8 shaft. I suppose I could cut the sea dog down to accommodate 1/4” total of Teflon discs, but what do I do about the shaft size difference? Pick up a piece of plastic pipe from a hardware store to shim it?

 

[jssailem]

Tie Down engineering makes a 3" long 1/2' diamiter shaft bow roller

Tie Down Engineering 86402 | Fisheries Supply

Save More on Your Tie Down Engineering #86402 Bow Roller, 3" Black at Fisheries Supply. Excellent Customer Service, Ready to Ship. Marine Supplies Since 1928!

www.fisheriessupply.com

https://www.tiedown.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/a693.pdf

Might be easier to shave off 1/8" each side with the correct shaft size.
At the $5 cost one could test several.

 

[skunther]

I’ve read plenty about chains twisting on rollers without a chain slot, so I was pretty set on replacing my roller with one that also has a chain slot, similar to my current roller.

 

[JoeWhite]

Drill 5/8" holes for the shaft in the anchor roller bracket and insert new bolt.