DIY Mantus Bow Roller

[Jarel Design]

Hi Guys,

I've had all sorts of help here choosing Anchor, Chain, Rode etc...

THANK YOU!

Thought I'd share what I came up with to mount our 25# Mantus on the bow of our 26' Chrysler.

(Yes, this could be considered over-kill, but that's the way I want it.)

The aluminum roller will sit on a 1" piece of teak and extend out beyond our bow by about 6" (I fit the plywood mock up along with a plywood mock up of the anchor to get close... I won't know precisely how far it will extend beyond the bow until I fit the real thing in...)

I used 3/16" aluminum, heli-arc welded along the bottom. All bolts/nuts etc are SS.

I used Delrin for the rollers as this material is nearly bullet proof and is designed to withstand water and salt (used of parts in artificial hearts!)

The cool thing about the rollers, is that they support the anchor shank vertically without coming close to the sides... Sits super firmly in place without wiggling side to side. The same groove, holds our nylon anchor rode perfectly!

6 stainless 3/8" bolts will go through the aluminum, teak, deck and ply backing plates so I'm fairly confident that this isn't going anywhere.

Hope you enjoy... (This was my way of "sharing back".)

Best,
Richard

[DeepFrz]

Nice job, thanks for sharing. Looks very good.

[Jarel Design]

Thanks for the kind words!

I'll post photos of the final installation.

On our boat, we have an anchor locker, but it's way too close to the bow. The plan is to fit this roller to the bow and then cut the anchor locker hatch (port to starboard), then reinforce and epoxy the forward part of the hatch to the deck. This bow roller will be fastened to the forward part of the deck and the forward part of what "was" the forward part of the hatch. The larger section of rear hatch will be re-hinged.

Behind the locker hatch, we have a Lewmar anchorman manual windlass that will get installed as well as a (forgot what it's called... anchor chain tensioner?), a device that will keep the chain taught when the anchor is in the roller.

HUGE list of refitting to do before we leave for the San Juans (for a month), in July... Includes a new 200 watt solar system, Pro-marniner charger. New impeller, gear lube and engine oil change, 5 new trailer tires, dusk to dawn light sensitive LED anchor light...

Whew! The list goes on and on! LOL!

Of all things, we lost the ignition switch key!!! Been looking for almost a week! Tresa remembered an obscure 'special" spot where we placed it... We just had to find that "jar"! LOL! She found it about 15 minutes ago! (I'm going to get about 6 copies made! LOL!

Here's a few photos of "Dayenu"

[Mr B]

Looking good there mate, Well done,
Im making one myself as the anchor I made wont fit through the hole in the boat where the old anchor went, , so I have to extend it out over the bow,

[Jarel Design]

WOAH!!!!

You MADE your own anchor?!?!?!?

Any photos?

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Jarel Design

WOAH!!!!

You MADE your own anchor?!?!?!?

Any photos?

My brand new anchor, Home made,
Its in the anchor threads, with piccys,
Mines overkill too, Haha,

[UNCIVILIZED]

Looking good! Note that when you bed it upon mounting, the temptation will be to use something permanent like 5200. But since the roller is aluminum, you'll need to pull it up periodically to inspect it for corrosion. So bolt & bed it with this in mind. And you may want to put a few bolts on it's aft end.


Also, for your anchor locker(s). Be sure to add some reinforcing (extra laminate, or bonded G-10), & reinforcing webs to take the cantilever loads from the roller. Or even add a few deck beams to bolt things to/take the loads. Preferably ones that are bonded in place, & also well glassed to the hull.


For the part of the locker with doors that hinge open, sometimes it makes more sense to split the doors into a port one, & a starboard one, vs. one big door. That way if a line or rode is overtop of one side, you can still get access to what's inside pretty easiy.

[HopCar]

That looks great. Nice job!

[Jarel Design]

Saw the picks of your anchor... Nice!

Questions about using 5200:

I will be using 3/4" ply under the forward hatch spreading load to the bow and to the hull on the sides (about 2" to 3" each side), going rearward to the rear edge of the forward section of deck hatch. I plan to bed it in place using WEST epoxy with high density adhesive (Great stuff and I've been using WEST since the 1980's. I feel VERY comfortable that it will turn into a single piece. 3/8" bolts will go through the aluminum anchor roller, 1" of teak, the deck and the ply doubler under the deck and large fender washers.

There are four bolts that go through the rear part of the aluminum roller (extra strength for any of this roller that extends beyond the bow: four bolt holes can be seen in the close up photo of the rear roller), and two 3/8" bolts forward. The roller is locked in place side to side by my bow fitting for forward stay and the starboard bow pulpit Stantion mount.

I am planning to use 5200 or more west/filler (consistency of peanut butter),to fill any voids created by the curvature of the deck between the teak and the deck.

What would you recommend using as a mounting compound between the aluminum and the teak, if not 5200 (I understand the need for inspection which is why I ask.)

Thanks!

Richard

[DeepFrz]

I would go with UV 4000 or 4200.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Hmm, I'm thinking that the primary issue really in terms of bedding/sealants, is to make the bolt holes WT. So there are lots of options for this in terms of sealants. And I don't think that the full length of the roller needs to be bonded in place with an adhesive type sealant.

My concern is that the roller is bare aluminum, & thus subject to corrosion from the salt water. And that any water trapped underneath of it will eat it up, unseen until it's quite severe. Also, if you fully bed it, & there's even a tiny pocket where there's no bedding, then that area suddenly becomes the most anodic section of the roller. Even more than if it were unbedded along it's entire length. So I'd want to be able to pull it off every few years/prior to a major voyage, to inspect it.
A bit paranoid perhaps, but... those were my thoughts in my earlier post.

Also, I was suggesting connecting the structure under the deck for the roller to the hull sides, as the hull to deck joint on a Chrysler 26' is fairly light weight. Consisting of a rubrail attached with machine screws (or pop rivets) if I recall correctly.
So adding a couple of glassed in, glassed over, wooden (partial) frames to tie things together up front was on my mind. Since the levering loads from a bow roller can exert a lot of force on a deck. Ditto twisting loads as the boat shears back & forth.

[JD-Odyssey]

Very nice... beautiful job. The rollers on my Hunter were Delrin and they do wear over time. I found replacements to be quite expensive (really no "standard" sizes for Hunter boats). I was able to find and use polyurethane trailer rollers which are much less expensive and seem to hold up just as well with our Rocna anchor. Just something you may want to consider in the future.

[foufou]

Great looking project. My preferred delrin is the black as the white degrades in sunlight relatively quickly

[Jarel Design]

Thanks guys!

Uncivilized: Thank you for your input. I follow you completely!

We are SO tight on time to get ready for this up coming trip... What I may do is "temporarily" bed the roller and just bolt it in place for now... I'll go ahead with the west HD adhesive and call it good (just for this trip! LOL!)

What I'll do when we get back, is remove it, clean up the aluminum and then maybe use a 2-part clear (UV "proof") paint with extra coats on the bottom and then bed it in. I'll also wait for the fiberglass when I get back. I AGREE with the hull/deck joint weakness... When I read what you wrote, I remember it from my first Chrysler... Had some major work to do in that department... The anchor locker is painted and I'd want to bring it down to bare fiberglass before laying up some HD roving for a better bond.

Looooong day today! Removed the bottom end on our main engine, actually found the right impeller locally! Astonishing here in oregon! Changed the bottom end lube, changed the engine oil, replaced and gapped the spark plugs and spent the rest of my time registering our boat and "trying" to find a quick way to register our 10' Achilles... Paid $275 for it, some patches below but the air chambers are good... Bought it on Craigslist a while back without a title or registration (previous owner used it in fresh water as a row boat to fish a lake near by that doesn't allow propulsion other than oars... Finally emailed them since the phone never rang and i wasn't in the mood to hope that they called back. My email reached the title and registration manager!!!! OMG! She was WONDERFUL! There were two special forms to fill out for my circumstances and she asked me to mail them to her directly with her name on the envelope! She said she'd expedite it so we could use our O/B on our dinghy during our trip.

Tresa placed online orders from my "To Buy" list and we just got our chain this morning! (40' 5/16" G4)... waiting for our solar panels and controller to test them out on our batteries...

So much to do!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice to see the items on my multiple lists get crossed off in yellow highlighter! (A yellow list is a happy list writer! LOL)

Thank you again for all the advice! (I'll make sure everything is secure for this trip, but will definitely return to the bow roller when we get back... probably a good fall/winter job.

Another thing. I had actually considered making the new locker hatch two-piece (port/starboard)... I'm going to wait until everything is installed (including the windless), and see how it all looks.... Makes a LOT of sense to have the opening right under the chain so we don't have to deal with that issue.

OK... Dinner is ready and I'm already sleepy... Been working on the boat since 5AM.

Thanks,
Richard

[thinwater]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I was always more concerned with how the chain runs over the roller than the anchor. I can lash or tension the anchor, but if the chain jams.... I also like a grove that holds the chain straight; for example, a 5/16"-3/8" groove for 1/4" chain.

I do like the craft.