Hull protection from anchor

[ozscott]

Occasionally my anchor hits the hull When retrievIng using the electric windlass. It only happens if the sea is rough and the boat pitches and the anchor swings point side toward the hull. It hardly ever occurs but it's annoying when it does. I'm thinking of a material to apply to the hull half way up the forefoot to protect it. I think it would need to be fairly hard and also about 6 inches across. Any ideas? Cheers

[Triple]

Is the area flat? Couple of small thin nylon cutting boards siliconed on in the impact zone?

[ozscott]

No such luck mate thanks anyway. Cheers

[chris69]

Hi there Ozscott dosnt keelguard do a bash plate?????

[deckie]

Hey oz..keelguard sent me out a s/s guard for nothing that fits just above the bow eye but its only meant for scuffing from the front roller and maybe not big enough for what u want unless it consistently hits the same spot, its maybe 5-6 inches square tho..thin 304 and the 3M backing glue is excellent on curved surfaces. Maybe one each side ? They make them roughly square or with a notch to go over a bow eye.
Go to their website and check out a bigger one they call "bow guard" or ring em up. Wouldnt be too pricey based on their smaller ones.

What type of anchor is it ?
Serious enough issue to warrant changing bow rollers/bowsprit ?

Can you mark the chain so u can easily pause with the flukes just below water level, then slow up ? Reverse can just make it swing back into the boat harder but u could maybe experiment.

[ozscott]

Thanks Gents. It has only hit maybee 3 times over several years, but marking the chain is a good idea...will do that. I will also look to see if Keelguard do a wider shorter piece. Otherwise I might get some alloy and bend it to fit - It hits within a couple of square inches.

Cheers

[ozscott]

There is this - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-ScuffBuster-Stainless-Steel-BOW-GUARD-KeelGuard-/370587659973?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item5648beeec5#ht_1010wt_1185

They also do a very large one that about 10 inches by 8 inches or so...bit large, but the small one I think would be just right. It of course might get dented and look like crap given that is only 22 gauge, which I understand is 3/4 of a mm....

Cheers

[Jabba_]

Get a stainless steel shop to fabracate a moulded plate and sikiflex it in place... I'll be soon getting somthing similar made for my rig but it will also incorperate the D-shackel for when the boat presses up against the front roller at the winch..

[Moffy]

As a bit of extra insurance to this same issue - my brother swapped out his bowsprit for a longer (stronger) version to get the anchor further away from the hull to start. not going to solve this issue - but would give you a bit more leeway maybe?

[ozscott]

Thanks Gents - thought about extending the bow roller assembly but A it works really well overall and B it would be too long - as it is I can only get the Land Rover's door open a foot or so because of the anchor against the rear spare tyre.

I had thought of a fabrications place, but was looking for an off the shelf idea - although it seems expensive. Having said that Keelguard have now emailed me saying you can get one foot lengths of the heavy rubber keelguard - 5 inches wide. I would have thought that its impact resistance and springy nature would stop the anchor damaging the gel coat and if I got it in white it should look ok.

I will still think about a fabrication jobby, but I would have to take the boat somewhere and overall I wonder about how it would look - very curvy bit of hull as well as V'd so I reckon it would always look a bit ordinary...

Cheers again and thanks for your thoughts.

[Gon Fishun]

Fabricate a piece of polycarb and design it to be fitted with quick release pins so you can fit it on and take it off easily when required.

[deckie]

If they do 1 foot lengths it'd likely work very well, the urethane they use is incredibly tough and would easily absorb any impact. Only thing is dont expect the white to be "average gelcoat white", you;ve got a seafarer yeah ?...most white gelcoats here seem whiter than in the u.s., its still a pretty decent match just dont expect it to disappear into the hull colour. I reckon the ends would need to be graduated and rounded a bit due to its thickness, did they happen to say if they were just sawn off pieces or prefab lengths ? Wouldnt be hard to do the ends yourself before fixing anyway i guess. Sounds like a damn good option, never even thought about it coz maybe used to seeing s/s all the time.
p.s. make sure they send out the primer and plastic applicator thingy..i.e. same kit as if it was a full keelguard application. Done a few now and easy to put on...about the only thing they cant provide (due to mail) is the acetone u will need to prep.

[PinHead]

77445is something like this, what you are after. A decent fabrication shop should be able to make one.

[Floating Rib]

Hi Ozscott, there is a inflatable boat shop on Lytton road hemnant that sells the rubber belting(this is what they call it) that they place along the keel of their RIBS, not sure if they have white but it was $15 a metre from memory and is about 100-150mm wide, im going to make up a complete keel guard out of the stuff when i get a chance. Im sure the guys that work there would clue you into what adhesives they use.