I have a 34 foot yacht which originally seemed to have the (pretty heavy) plough anchor on the foredeck. Taking the anchor to the bow, threading it through the pulpit and helping it over the bow roller is a pretty big pain in the back. Since anchoring can be (and has been more than once) an emergency procedure, this arrangement is not much good. I therefore set about an alternative - ie having it sit on the bow roller. I have double "roller" on the bow. The one the anchor sits on rolls and the one (next door) is fixed and used for the mooring chain. Unfortunately the shackle on the anchor makes it too fat to fit right through the roller. An alternative is an anchor connector. These are either very expensive or, it seems to me, have a bit of a weak point - because they often have a pivot at each end in the same plane. So if the anchor is violently pulled sideways when in the ground, I think they could open up and fail. Therefore we tried an alternative which is basically a strap of stainless steel about 6 inches long with a single hole at each end and a longitudinal slot in the centre. This strap is then bent at the centre through 180 degrees so the 2 holes meet up and it fits tightly over the end of the anchor shaft. A pin and washers go in the groove to take the chain. This is thinner than the anchor connectors available and a lot stronger I think. I wonder if anyone else has solutions to this problem.
