Bow roller fabrication - driving over chain

[crazyoldboatguy]

Greetings folks, I am fabricating bow rollers for my two 80lb Manson Supreme anchors and a windlass. I like the design but it presents some challenges with my vintage sailboat (John Alden designed 47’ ketch with a tall bulwarks and a bowsprit.

I got the geometry of hauling up the anchor and the resultant roller works well while hauling up the anchor. Both anchors are the same size/weight. May not be ideal but with all the stuff at the bow I had to “compromise”.

The reason for my post - I want to make sure these big hunks of metal stay secured and don’t flop around when in the stored position. There isn’t much online about this - my boat being an older design,etc.

I mocked up a cinching pad that may be welded to the underside of the roller (I hope the photos come with this post and are clear enough!) that the anchor would come up against when it is hauled up “all the way. I will have a hook/lock mounted on the portion of the roller body that is on the deck to cinch it all up.

Here’s my concern. If/when the anchor gets stuck and I decide to drive over the anchor to dislodge it, it may well come into contact with this “cinch pad” and cause mischief. The photos I hope come with the post show the sharpest angle I can obtain before the chain contacts the cinch pad. I wondering if I could expect a greater angle of the chain in various depths?

My experience with anchoring is long (50 plus years) but on a much smaller boat (28’ Pearson Triton) with a danforth on line - not chain - in depths not exceeding 25’ and no windlass. I have never had to drive over the anchor line to any extreme to dislodge the anchor.

So, my focus is on the driving over chain part. I could attach a line to the anchor hoop and perhaps pull up on that - do folks have experience with that?

Thoughts and opinions please.

[crazyoldboatguy]

I apologize for the photos not being upright. Try as I might, I couldn’t get them oriented right side up.