Update – The Bruce did not fit the original roller without banging into the hull ☹ Next step was to buy a bigger anchor roller, which turned out to be an adventure. First one off Amazon was some Chinese knockoff made of metal so thin I could bend it by hand! That went back. The next one somehow got damaged in shipment and UPS sent it back before I even saw it. How the heck do you damage an anchor roller??? Third time is a charm, a Windline URM-2 showed up unmolested by UPS. This is not a very big anchor roller by cruising boat standards, but at 15 inches long it was about twice the size of the last one. It just barely fits the 35 MK I once you grind off the aluminum that sticks up to protect the running light. This was a lot of grinding work and obviously this is a nonstarter if you still are using the factory lights (I hope not! They sucked) The roller could be longer, but any wider than the URM-2 and it would be next to impossible to fit. Also the bow chock on the starboard side had long since been moved aft. The order of operations was:
1. From the forepeak, inject as much epoxy as possible to seal up the air gap between the small horizontal bulkhead and deck under the stem fitting, otherwise the forward bolt holding the anchor roller will be bending this little piece of glassed-in wood. 2. Drill the mounting holes, one goes through the stem fitting and the aft two go through the deck. The aft two and are then drilled oversized, plugged from beneath, and filled with epoxy. Note alignment is critical, you want a straight line back to the cleat that won’t chafe the anchor line. Also you want the roller just enough forward so the wheel could be replaced in the future. Don’t trap the bolt for the roller wheel against the stem fitting. 3. Cut a piece of Starboard to fit between the anchor roller and the deck just aft of the stem fitting. 4. Cut another piece of starboard to be used as a backing plate. 5. Fit the roller temporarily with the forward bolt, line everything up carefully, and drill correct sized holes through the roller and deck, making sure to center it up so the holes are through solid epoxy. 6. Remove the roller, put down lots of butyl tape, put it back on, and run all the bolts through. Don’t forget the Starboard pieces. It works, the anchor stays clear of the hull! The only issue is the Bruce anchor is not totally snug in the roller. It rocks a bit back and forth. I don’t think this will be an issue, but just in case I am cutting a piece of wood to fit in the channel with a groove for the shank, it should hold the anchor still. Joe Coquina C&C 35 MK I
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