Yachting

PHOTO LEFT AND ABOVE : GRAHAM-SNOOK.COM

TECHNICAL

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 75

The bow roller

must be a suitable

size for your

boat and your

type of cruising

• the longer
  your cruises, the
  bigger your roller

The anchor and chain

should be held well

clear of the bows

Retaining pins secure the anchors in

place should their cable come free.

They also stop the cable jumping out

The roller should be aluminium, stainless

steel or bronze and have a central groove for

vertically aligning the links of the chain

Guides to aid entry of the

cable and anchor into the roller

The roller should

be attached to

both hull and deck

to take the loads

imposed upon it

The roller should be on,

or as close as possible to,

the centreline of the yacht

There should be a fair lead

for the anchor cable from the

roller to a cleat or windlass

Two staggered

rollers to

enable twin

anchors to be

stowed on the

rollers at once

Key features of a well-designed stemhead

ABOVE: With over 30 knots of wind, the load on the bow roller of this 32ft yacht exceeds 320kg

effect caused by using the fi tting

as the fi xing point for the forestay.

Even if your bow roller does not

overhang, a tang to the stem is

still a good practice.

When anchoring on rope, chafe

is always a clear and present

danger. Wrapping a rag around

the line helps, but not for long.

A short length of plastic tubing

slipped over the line is better but,

depending on the material, it may

harden and need replacing.

Beneath the surface

Your bow roller fi tting is only part

of the equation. The fastenings

keeping it and your cleats in place

are just as important. Marine

surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies

points out: ‘While fi ttings

can fail, the fastenings cause

‘Even the smallest bow roller

should be able to handle a 25mm

rope with ease, but many can’t’

PHOTO: BEN SUTCLIFFE-DAVIES

Most stemhead fi ttings support

the forestay. This one is cracked

and starting to detach