Anchor cleat and roller mount

[Bigreddon]

Hey guys! I have a 15' fiberform tri hull I recently restored the floor in, and NEED to mount an anchor cleat and roller on the bow. I intend to make a storage "locker" for the anchor line under the open bow, under the seats.

BUT..I am not sure of the best way to mount a cleat for the anchor and roller. I cannot reach up under the seats of the bow from the cockpit, to place wood on the underside of the gunwhale to make for a secure mounting surface that will withstand the pulling force of the anchor.

Is there a safe, solid way to attach the cleat and roller to the top of the glass that will withstand these forces? I was thinking possibly using epoxy resin to bond wood to the top, and hence spread the load over a larger area, and secure the cleat and mount to that wood. I could even glass over that wood I suppose...

 

[Bigreddon]

I decided to just mount the anchor onto the trailer hook. I'll make a short length of rope to reach the deck, and tie off to that when my roe is run out.

 

[Bigreddon]

Upon further inspection, the trailer hook is too far below the bow to hook the anchor too, in that it would be too hard to release in an emergency. Any ideas?

 

[83mulligan]

do you have some pictures of the area that you could post?

 

[Bigreddon]

i dont. the horizontal surface in front of the open bow is about 6 inches between bow and seats. it runs the width of the boat. its flat. however, there is no access uderneath. i just don't know how much pulling a cleat could withstand without reinforcemenet underneath the glass..

 

[Bigreddon]

how about this... i can drill a 3 inch hole into the horizontal surface of the bow. then, i lower an 18 inch x 2 1/2 inch piece of 3/4 ply through the hole, end first. Then, with my hand through the hole, i flip the ply horizontal, and pull it up against the backside of the glass. i then drill appropriate holes and screw the plywood to the glass from the top. i can then epoxy the screw holes before i screw them into the wood, and PB the exposed wood where i drilled the 3 inch hole. i can attach the cleat where the exposed wood now is, not allowing the direct stress of the cleat to come in contact with the glass, rather transferring the load 9 inches either way. this will give me 45 square inches of surface area to spread the load.

NOW.. with that all being said.. how solid is the cap? it was original from the factory, but wasnt built with anchoring in mind, it seems. there are cleats on the stern and port sides of the same cap (which runs bow to stern) and those cleatss have wood under the glass.. for tying to docks. i would just hate to rip the cap from the hull under anchoring stress..

 

[83mulligan]

I would think getting a backer plate underneath is the way to go. You could cut out the access like you said, mount the backer plate, be it aluminum or ply and then glass the cutout piece back in. I'd think the cap will be fine if it has mooring cleats attached already. What is the thickness of the cap?

 

[Bigreddon]

Not sure exactly the thickness...I'll have to measure...

 

[Bigreddon]

It's 3-16" thick

 

[Woodonglass]

This...http://www.tackledirect.com/scotty-277-anchor-lock-w-244-flush-deck-mount.html and a 3/4" plywood base toggled bolted to your gunwale and you should be good to go!!!

 

[Bigreddon]

This...http://www.tackledirect.com/scotty-277-anchor-lock-w-244-flush-deck-mount.html and a 3/4" plywood base toggled bolted to your gunwale and you should be good to go!!!

Is that plastic? Says it's for still water fishing. I'm going to be in lakes sometimes, but the columbia river others. Thanks for that tip, though WOG!! I've decided to make a locker below the bow for the rode(3/8 double braided with 15' of 1/4" chain) and mount a roller/anchor mount and cleat. Found a nice roller locally ....
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/bod/4911156421.html

I'll drill a large diameter hole near the bow, between the stern and port bow seats, and moint a cover with a pass through for the rode.

 

[Woodonglass]

Nope, Metal!!! Had a similar one on a Bass Boat years ago. Worked good.

 

[83mulligan]

3/16" is a lot of fiberglass. I like the access hatch idea for the anchor rode/rope and for mounting your backer plate.

 

[Bigreddon]

I meant between the STARBOARD and port seats....

 

[Bigreddon]

I found a remarkabley affordable anchor roller rated for a 20 pound anchor, with a slick little locking tab for under $20. I have my new 200' 3/8 double braided nylon rope. Now, to get 15' of chain to complete my rode. I've decided to mount the anchor on the rail when not in use. I'm just going to use the hull of the boat as rode storage. I'm going to fabricate a small access hole through the bow, that will allow the rode to drop inside the hull, under the seats. When this boat was built, it appears the open bow seats weredropped in over the existing floor. There is literally two floors in the bow area, which I learned when Replacing my stringers. Any water from the rode will run to the stern, from under the bow seats, out from under the bow seats...where your legs would be when sitting in the cockpit seats..past the passenger and pilot seats, right out the back of the transom.

I'm not gong to make a special cubby...because there is soooo much open space already under the bow seating.