Designing a Stowable Anchor System for a Carbon Front Beam

The challenge with a carbon longeron as an anchor platform is obvious the moment you think about it: anchor chain, stainless steel rollers, and a steel anchor bash around constantly, and carbon doesn’t like that. Every point where metal meets carbon needs protection, and that protection needs to be removable because for longer passages the anchor comes off the bow entirely and stows aft — weight off the bow makes a real difference to trim.

The anchor roller assembly itself was largely recycled from the old system. Shayne machined new stainless steel cheeks for the roller on the lathe, repacked the original nylon roller with new washers to fit the wider geometry of the new installation, and used a titanium pin — left over from the mast — to secure the HDPE chain guide to the beam. The pin takes an R-clip on one side, which means the whole plastic guide pulls out in seconds for cleaning or replacement.

The chain guide itself is high-density polyethylene pipe, split lengthwise and bent into shape with heat. HDPE is the right material here — the chain slides on it easily, it’s tough enough to handle the constant abrasion, and it’s available in agricultural supply stores anywhere in the world. Where it enters the anchor locker there’s a twist-fit arrangement: a groove machined into the pipe mates with a bolt, and a quarter turn locks it in place. Removable, secure, and simple enough to replace on passage if needed.

The sock is Anna’s work. The inner layer is recycled hydrant sail from the old mainsail — Spectra, which is tough, slippery, and ideal for chain to run through. The outer layer is black Sunbrella for UV protection and aesthetics. The mesh panel in between came out of an old sail bag that was heading for the bin. The mesh matters: moisture sits on anchor chain, and the open weave allows everything inside to dry out rather than staying wet and corroding. The sock folds up with the chain when it all goes into the locker and protects the trampoline net and small feet from the chain on the way.

The composite shelf in the anchor locker is new — the original was on the wrong side and the attachment point turned out to be a carbon-glass hybrid bulkhead, which is better than expected. A recycled C-Tech batten provided the stiffener.

The whole system comes off the bow in minutes. On passages of more than a day, the anchor and all its associated hardware moves aft, the bow lightens, and Paikea trims better.

In This Series

This post is part of the Front End Build Series. Load paths, vacuum bagging, forestay fittings, seagull striker, martingale, trampoline installation and sea trials are all documented in the series Paikea’s Carbon Front End Rebuild.

The entire playlist is featured below:

Additional behind the scenes photos of the build showing more detail in the members’ technical library Join here.