securing anchors

When I asked people on the forums what they did with their anchors, some interesting replies emerged. Robin, for example, thought the idea of an anchor on a roller was sound but that it shouldn’t be as far forward as I was suggesting. This is because too much weight right at the front of the boat will make it ‘bounce’ and dig into waves. He suggested maybe I could mount the roller alongside the bowsprit further back where it meets the stem. I could but then I would need to build a laminated arch of wood over it so that the jib sheet wouldn’t catch on (a point made by Richard). This is something Wayne has done on his navigator to very good effect. Both tips are really sensible.


Dave described his set up on his mirror dinghy. He has a 10lb fisherman anchor and a danforth on the deck. The anchors sit on ‘V’ shaped blocks (one on top of the other) and are lashed in place. A wooden dowel through the block serves as a cleat for tying them down. Occasionally he keeps the fisherman catted over the bow so that he can drop it easily in sheltered waters. Dave also drew attention to the way he lays out a transom stern anchor – starting it from the bow he lowers it and then runs the warp down the outside of the boat and cleats it off. The warp remains along the side of the boat out of the way avoiding chaos within tripping over it!

So...........secure anchor on deck but not far forward; build an arch to stop it catching the jib. Got that! Now how do I secure the rode and chain in the anchor locker so it doesn’t fall out in event of a capsize?

Thanks guys for the advice, appreciated as always.

Steve