How can I put an anchor locker in my classic?

P

Patrout

New member
:?: My sore back tells me that I should consider installing a windlass so that with just a punch of a button I can raise and lower the anchor. Good idea!

But how do I put in an anchor rode locker? I know it will have to have a drain somewhere. It should have a hatch for access in case the rope or the chain gets tangled. It needs to be deep enough for the rode to feed into it easily. There are probably other things to consider, too.

I have checked around on the internet but I haven't yet run down any specific information on building one of these things.

Does anyone have advice for me on this little problem?

Thanks,
Pat
 
Pat-

This shouldn't be too difficult a problem. I'll outline it for sake of clarity.

1. Get the measurements from an existing C-Dory 22 of the distance back of the anchor locker bulkhead and it's height. If you plan on having more than 300" of 1/2" anchor line, add a few inches to the first dimension for good measure, as the locker is a bit small for deep anchor rodes.

2. Using the dimensions above, make a cardboard template for your new bulkhead. Cut it out of 1/4" marine plywood, check it carefully for fit, then glass both sides of it while it's still out of the boat.

3. Sand the Zolatone or other paint finish down to fiberglass resin in the boat and then glass the new bulkhead in with fiberglass tape. Be sure to rough up the resin on the new bulkhead too, so that the new tape and resin sticks to both surfaces. This has to be done so the sides and the bottom of the bulkhead are water tight.

4.Paint the new bulkhead as best you can to match or contrast with the old hull paint.

5. Go to the photos in the Anchoring Section of the Library and look at Tyboo's locker drain photo and the instructions there for installing it, then proceed. Link

6. Buy a suitable windlass and install it according to the directions provided.
Lots of choices here. The Simpson/Lawrence Horizon 600 and Sprint 600 have the best track record on this site for trouble free performance.

7. Get the Simpson/Lawrence Pivoting Anchor Roller (drop nose style) and install it. No other component will do more to insure your windlass self-launches.

8. Select an anchor of your choice that works in your anchoring situations. We have discussed this at length before. Local practice as to what works is a great guide. The Delta Fastset and Bruce (type) anchors are great choices for varied conditions. The Fortress and other Danforth work great in mud and sand, but don't reset as well in a current change.

9. Add 15 to 30 feet of 1/4" high test GS 40 chain (required by windlass gypsy) and as much New England Ropes 1/2" Premium (firm) 3-strand nylon rope and have them spliced, or do it yourself carefully. S/L and West Marine also make ready-made windlass compatible rode combinations. Add a swivel connection at the rode/anchor junction if you desire, or simply a quality anchor shackle. If in doubt, go with the plain shackle, and you can substitute the swivel type later if your use indicates you need it.

10. If you want, you can add a hinged door at the bulkhead you built in steps 2-3 to your anchor locker if you so desire with couple of brass or stainless hinges and some of the extra plywood and fiberglass components from the above job as you do it. Personally, if you don't operate a lot in stinky mud, I'd leave it open for air to circulate so as to dry the rode faster.

11. Get a fairlead fitting that will span the gap on the inside studs of the U-bolt that is the underside trailer tow bow eye and add it to the U-bolt. This can probably be done by just adding the fairlead and new nuts to the existing U-bolt and nuts if the threads are long enough. Dead-end your rode to this fairlead.

12. :beer &/or :cigar

Joe.
 
Pat,

I just did what you want to do on my 1983 "classic" 22' C-Dory.

I had a shelf with a back built in the bow, directly under the windless. I used a new Lemar Pro, a lot like the Horizon 600, only less expensive. The back of the shelf has a cut in it so you can get at the line.

Very simple, and very expensive if you have somebody else do it.

The drain is on the port side.

I will try and get pictures to you within the week.

Do the shelf first before you cut the windless hole.

Where to cut the windless hole can be found in the tech section under anchoring photos. There is a line drawing already made up for you to use.

Good luck.

Fred
 
I might add a couple of thoughts to Sea Wolf's most excellent points. I prefer to use epoxy for sealing the plywood and adhering the glass to it. Be sure that all of the edges of the plywood are well sealed with epoxy--may even want to thicken up the epoxy with Cabasol (Silica). I like to make small trapazoidal spacers of urethane foam between the hull side and the plywood bulkhead. The keeps the plwyood from forming a hard place on the hull, and spreads the load out. I like to use several sizes of fiberglass tape to tab the bulkhead in place. 6" and 4" would be good for this project.

There are some very nice and relitatively in expensive plastic doors which have dogs and gaskets. This would work well to bulkhead off the anchor locker from the bunk area.

The only other item I would add, is to put a tight simple eye splice on the bitter end (no thimble.) run a 1/4" 10 foot line, line thru this, abound the dead eye (Fair lead as Joe describes--or a eye nut can be threaded on one of the U bolt legs)--pass this thru the the tight eye splice and dead eye several times, tying it off at the bitter end of the anchor rode. This allows you to remove the rode, without out digging down into the locker to untie it, and to add another XXX feet of rode if you find that you are in an unusually deep area. For example we normally carried 300 feet of rode, but occasionally would anchor in 100 feet, so had an additional 300 feet of line stowed away, that we could tie to the anchor rode when necessary.
 
Wow! Thanks to you three for instant, usable advice on a rode locker for C-Farer.

I've PM'd each of you with thanks.

Those photos in the Anchoring section really made things a lot clearer.

Pat
 
Joe, Bob, Fred - Two words for the three of you. - You're Hired.

Bob - This is a new idea to me and would work with any boat, thank you. (Never know even a shallow person might go deep one day).

The only other item I would add, is to put a tight simple eye splice on the bitter end (no thimble.) run a 1/4" 10 foot line, line thru this, abound the dead eye (Fair lead as Joe describes--or a eye nut can be threaded on one of the U bolt legs)--pass this thru the the tight eye splice and dead eye several times, tying it off at the bitter end of the anchor rode. This allows you to remove the rode, without out digging down into the locker to untie it, and to add another XXX feet of rode if you find that you are in an unusually deep area. For example we normally carried 300 feet of rode, but occasionally would anchor in 100 feet, so had an additional 300 feet of line stowed away, that we could tie to the anchor rode when necessary.

Regards,

Mark
 
Mark, Pat, et al-

One other addition that really works on my boat is an extension control on the windlass.

I made a wired extension to pass up through the forward hatch so that I could control the windlass up on the bow if needed to clean off the anchor, clear up a fouled rode, etc.

Made it just long enough to reach to the bow pulpit, but short enough it wouldn't reach the water if dropped overboard.

A 3-wire 14 Gauge extension cord works for the wire, and a "T" handle made of PVC pipe fittings houses two momentary contact switches in either end of the "T".

One wire carries the 12-v hot voltage from the solenoid/relay control switch, and the two others carry back the returning signal to the relay. I used the black wire for the hot wire, the green (ground) wire for the down signal, and the white (common) for the up signal.

You can get momemtary contact switches with colored buttons, green for down, red for up, or whatever. Write "down" and "up" clearly on the ends of the "T" next to the buttons.

Be careful, the windlass, chain, and rope can remove fingers and toes easily.

Put a switch in the hot wire where it exits the relay for safety.

A Velcro strap can be added to secure the handle to the bow pulpit tubing so you can have both hands free.

Some companies make this type of remote in wired and wireless form for their windlasses as an option.

Big boats often have step-on switches on their bows that perform this function. (And pressure water to wash off the anchor and rode.)

Also enables you to load and unload the anchor and rode at the dock or in the garage single-handedly.

Just another convenience feature/idea.

Joe.
 
Mark,
Great suggestion. If I make the eye splice in the bitter end of the rode large enough to go around a 6 gallon bucket and I keep my extra line in the bucket, I can make a loop to loop connection quickly without having to pass the spare line through the eye splice hand over hand. (Another lesson learned from fly fishing when it comes time to change lines on a reel without having to retie the connection between the fly line and the backing.) The join just has to be slim enough to feed through the windlass.

Joe,
Thanks for the Wiring 101 lesson. I am a timid tinkerer with wires and electricity. Your extension switch seems like something I could handle.

Pat
 
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