( This is a "repackaged" version of a very old web site I did about
some projects to my old Santana 2023C sailboat)

Bow Locker

The first thing I did with the bow locker was move the hinges to the other side of the lid. The original setup had the anchor deploying (based on the direction that the lid opened) right over the side where the jib furling line and turning block were! (duh! - hello, Schock?).

 

I also through-bolted the hinges like I did with the cockpit locker. Again, I had to notch the drainage lip so the nuts would clear.

 

I put some more line hangers on the lid so dock lines would be available at the bow. I screwed a velcro-webbing strip to the lid to wrap around the lines and keep them from falling into the locker. These screws do not go through, but are just long enough (at least that was what I was praying for as I screwed them in) to come up short of the top surface gelcoat.

 

Because of where the lid hits the pulpit rail, it will not stay open on its own (nor would it anyway in a cross-wind). Its hard to see here, but there is a thin bungee that lays in the drip trough when the lid is closed. It is in use in this picture, used to hold the lid open. It comes from one of the drip rail holes (knotted on the underside) and passes through the aft notch and has an "S" hook on the end which I clip to the lifeline termination at the bow pulpit.

 

I bolted a small cleat to the aft wall of the locker inside to terminate the anchor rode.

 

The anchor locker in the bow was VERY deep. When the anchor was stowed (vertically), it caused the rode to get all fouled up in the very bottom. To prevent this I put a wood "floor" about 4" off the bottom. The pointy end is resting on the backing block for the bow eye forward, and rests on the angled part of the wall aft. It did not need to be fastened down in any way.

 

The PVC pipe goes through the wood all they way down to the bottom of the locker. I used a large threaded section glued to the pipe in order to "pinch" the wood and hold it. You can see a side view sketch here:

The holes in the wood piece are for drainage. The rode can then curl up on the wood piece around the pipe.

 

In this picture, the shank of the anchor and the first bit of chain (folded alongside the shank) go down into the PVC pipe. The rode can collect on the wooden "floor" around the pipe. If I were to do it again, I would probably try to use a larger diameter pipe to make it easier to insert the anchor shank and chain. I am not sure if the size of the little triangle of floor at the very bottom of the locker would support this larger size, however.

 

I put some closed cell foam (the blue stuff) around the walls to keep the gelcoat from getting all chipped up.