Anchor Bail

[edmundsteele]

AnchorBail2.jpg

My 1981 CD28 does not have an anchor bail on the bowsprit and I have had the anchor jump ship in robust conditions to the point where it is now lashed on with a nylon tie-down plus rusted buckle. If I need to anchor in a hurry I will need to use a knife!

In the adjacent slip at the marina is a neglected CD30 with an anchor bail (see attached photos). Does anyone know where I can purchase a ready made bail for my boat, or is this something that one has custom-made at a welding / fabrication shop?
Ed

[Carl Thunberg]

Perhaps I'm not visualizing this correctly, but if your anchor is captive inside a bail, how do you run the anchor rode through the bow chocks? I'm not sure you want all that stress on your bow sprit. On my former CD30, my anchor was stored on the bowsprit, but never launched from the bow sprit.

[JD-MDR]

https://www.spartanmarine.com/anchoring. here is some
https://www.lewmar.com/node/11630

[mgphl52]

Perhaps I'm not visualizing this correctly, but if your anchor is captive inside a bail, how do you run the anchor rode through the bow chocks? I'm not sure you want all that stress on your bow sprit. On my former CD30, my anchor was stored on the bowsprit, but never launched from the bow sprit.

If I'm anchoring for any length of time, I simply bring the rode around to the chock and cleat.

[Bill Goldsmith]

...how do you run the anchor rode through the bow chocks? ...

Although perhaps more common with all chain rode, you can rig a snubber line with a rolling hitch:

[Jim Walsh]

I use a chain snubber only when conditions warrant. My snubber consists of a “devils claw” spliced to a 12’ piece of 3/8” three strand nylon. That three strand has plenty of stretch and is very effective for those times when the boat is snatching at the anchor chain in blustery conditions. I know a rolling hitch is effective but I prefer the “devils claw” as it is easily removed in a moment....we all have our preferences.

[edmundsteele]

My CD28 had all 3/8” chain rode when I bought her but I’m getting too old to haul that without a windlass so I switched to a mixed rode setup with 1/4” chain. I typically use a “snubber” line with a rolling hitch on the nylon portion of the rode.

My CD28 bowsprit looks like the attached pictures of a CD30 but without the bail. I was hoping someone would say, “Oh yes, you buy that at xxxx”. The bail shown would be perfect on my boat but there is probably a security camera somewhere, and the owner of the CD30 is a really big guy. (sigh)
Ed

[Steve Laume]

Raven had the original bow roller when I bought her. The thing was horrible. The rode was constantly slipping off of the roller when I was retrieving the anchor.

I did some research and came up with two basic options for approximately, the same price. One was the beautiful bronze Spartan roller that some Cape Dorys came with. What I went with was a very robust roller made by Windline. I had to do a bit of modification to the roller to make it fit around the fittings for the fore stay but the thing is very solid and helps to strengthen the bow sprit. I few a spinnaker off of one flange for years and only bent it, very, slightly before adding reinforcement. The little roller in the picture would be better than what you have but I would definitely want a removable pin. The pin on my roller fits through the hole in my CQR to hold it in place. The roller has high enough flanges that it is not needed when deploying or retrieving the anchor.

I also have a stainless hook on my snubber line. Not the same as Jim's but the same idea. My snubber line is about 30' long. You want some length to provide enough stretch. I like to let out my 90' of chain and attach the snubber near the end. I can then let out some nylon rode led through one chock and the snubber line through the other one. This forms a nice bridle. If I am well into the nylon rode then I tie a rolling hitch with the other end of the snubber line to form the bridle.

However you decide to go, make sure to check on the location of the bronze rods that reinforce the sprit before you drill any holes, Steve,

[ghockaday]

We tied a small piece of Sta-Set to ours and put a loop in the other in and just hook it on the chock. Nothing to untie just slip it off. It has never come loose under sail. Dennis

[edmundsteele]

Raven had the original bow roller when I bought her. The thing was horrible. The rode was constantly slipping off of the roller when I was retrieving the anchor.

I did some research and came up with two basic options for approximately, the same price. One was the beautiful bronze Spartan roller that some Cape Dorys came with. What I went with was a very robust roller made by Windline. I had to do a bit of modification to the roller to make it fit around the fittings for the fore stay but the thing is very solid and helps to strengthen the bow sprit. I few a spinnaker off of one flange for years and only bent it, very, slightly before adding reinforcement. The little roller in the picture would be better than what you have but I would definitely want a removable pin. The pin on my roller fits through the hole in my CQR to hold it in place. The roller has high enough flanges that it is not needed when deploying or retrieving the anchor.

I also have a stainless hook on my snubber line. Not the same as Jim's but the same idea. My snubber line is about 30' long. You want some length to provide enough stretch. I like to let out my 90' of chain and attach the snubber near the end. I can then let out some nylon rode led through one chock and the snubber line through the other one. This forms a nice bridle. If I am well into the nylon rode then I tie a rolling hitch with the other end of the snubber line to form the bridle.

However you decide to go, make sure to check on the location of the bronze rods that reinforce the sprit before you drill any holes, Steve,

Thank you for the pointer to Spartan. I think I will try that route. You mentioned bronze rods that reinforce the bowsprit? Do you know how many there are and are they transverse?
Ed

[Jim Walsh]

Raven had the original bow roller when I bought her. The thing was horrible. The rode was constantly slipping off of the roller when I was retrieving the anchor.

I did some research and came up with two basic options for approximately, the same price. One was the beautiful bronze Spartan roller that some Cape Dorys came with. What I went with was a very robust roller made by Windline. I had to do a bit of modification to the roller to make it fit around the fittings for the fore stay but the thing is very solid and helps to strengthen the bow sprit. I few a spinnaker off of one flange for years and only bent it, very, slightly before adding reinforcement. The little roller in the picture would be better than what you have but I would definitely want a removable pin. The pin on my roller fits through the hole in my CQR to hold it in place. The roller has high enough flanges that it is not needed when deploying or retrieving the anchor.

I also have a stainless hook on my snubber line. Not the same as Jim's but the same idea. My snubber line is about 30' long. You want some length to provide enough stretch. I like to let out my 90' of chain and attach the snubber near the end. I can then let out some nylon rode led through one chock and the snubber line through the other one. This forms a nice bridle. If I am well into the nylon rode then I tie a rolling hitch with the other end of the snubber line to form the bridle.

However you decide to go, make sure to check on the location of the bronze rods that reinforce the sprit before you drill any holes, Steve,

Thank you for the pointer to Spartan. I think I will try that route. You mentioned bronze rods that reinforce the bowsprit? Do you know how many there are and are they transverse?
Ed

Here’s a picture I took several years ago. You can see the bungs for the bronze rods, they are about the size of a nickel. You can see four in this photo. Yes they are transverse reinforcements.