Bow Protection

[hellosailor]

You could take a piece of corrugated cardboard. Tape it on and trim it to the shape you want, being careful to be symmetric. (Probably help to mark grid lines on it.)


Then take it off, soak it with warm water and white glue. Tape it back on, with some plastic beneath to prevent it sticking ot the boat.


When it dries, take it to a stainless ship and have them cut & bend up some stainless plate "to match this". You may still need a little hammering and squeezing, but the bulk of the job will be professionally done.


Stainless *anything* is damned expensive, so call around and get some quotes first.

[mstrebe]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

This is what I would like

That's not for anchor protection, its for ramming.

[hpeer]

No, THIS is for ramming!

[markpierce]

SS bow plate came as an option.

[Jim Cate]

As Ann posted earlier, we switched from a thin s/s protector to a vinyl matting job. The s/s became dented from strikes from our Manson Supreme battering ram when weighing in choppy conditions. The vinyl, about 8 mm thick, has survived for around 6 years now. It is a bit discolored and scratched, but it cleans up with an acetone wipe if needed.It was neccessary to warm the bend area with a heat gun to get it shaped, but that wasn't too hard. I bedded the outer 25 mm or so of the perimeter with Sika 291 and held it in place with a few small screws. The slightly soft vinyl absorbs the impact from even a wildly swinging anchor with no damage to the underlying surface.

I find it quite satisfactory, and WAY less expensive than a custom fitted s/s one, especially one thick enough to avoid denting. Looks? You must decide for yourself...

Jim

[Patrick7]

This is not SS but is pretty sturdy stuff and is available in varying colors and widths. It is also easy to apply and only a few $.https://www.keelguard.com

[UNCIVILIZED]

Jim Cate's solution is obviously well tested, & it'd get my vote. Especially for being KISS & (relatively) inexpensive. Kydex might be another similar option, though you'll need to heat it to bend it to match the bow contour.
Can't say as to how it'd hold up to long term UV though.

But... If you just have to have something trick, & a bit different from everyone else, you could custom laminate up a Kevlar "Cod Piece", with a bit of mold release or packing tape between it & the bow. And then once it's cured to shape, pull it off, do the final trimming, add a few layers of Spectra cloth to protect the Kevlar, & then glue it into place as Jim did.

Keep in mind though, that Kevlar does absorb water, as in it wicks it. Thus the protective layers over it. That & it's UV sensitive. So semi regular varnishing would be a necessity.
Still, it'd look trick, if done right. And you could always add SS, or Titanium "armor" strips to it if you so desired. And said strips would look even cooler, if heated until you achieved some pretty, "straw colors" patterns on them.

BTW, if you go to all of the bother of having something in SS fabricated, why not have an artistic pattern on the aft edges of it. It'd be both unique, & pretty.
Who knows what "doors" such a thing might open. As a conversation piece, & or to perhaps get your boat "favors" with harbor masters & such.
Give a metal artisan a bit of free license, design wise, & I'm sure that he/they could come up with something gorgeous.

PS: Also, I'd imagine that bedding a metal plate in s custom, reinforced, resin "pad" would help to mitigate the denting by a good bit.
Meaning, tape off the section of the bow where it's going, & mix up some epoxy & chopped glass fibers to bed it into/on, so that there aren't any gaps at all behind it, between it & the hull.

[Cheechako]

this:

[gonesail]

i bet your hunter has a straight bow meaning you could fit a piece of stainless pretty easy. but you would probably need a few screws to hold it in place. like the op said: make the pattern with something else and take it to a fabricator. it would not need be very thick really.

[zeehag]

cheechako i like your example-- rockin...
the long sprit is for ramming and bringing up anchor in choppy locales in such a manner as to befoul the damnthing in the bobstay..lol.not that that part actually works as spozed to in worst chops..
friend had a ss plate on his ericson--he removed it due to mold behind it on the fg. so, whenye install these, put enough goober to keep out the water and moisture.
i have wanted this, but i saw the results when removed, and deferred.
but it is certainly gorgeous as well as functional.

[cabo_sailor]

Have you checked the mantus anchor web site. They sell a product called the Mantus Anchor Mate for $83 usd that keeps your anchor rigidly attached when it fully up in the bow roller. Simple bolt on. A very clever design.

I believe it will also work on other makes of anchors.

Rich


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