Anchor Locker

My Water Wife, love of my life and supervising boat builder, became ill a number of weeks back, fortunately the cause has been identified. However she has had major surgery and is laid up until after Christmas.

This has me pampering her and taking every opportunity to avoid boat building, whilst continuing to espouse that I still do so.

Meanwhile, I have slowly built the anchor locker, water plumbing through bulkheads from the water lockers and the forward half of the mast compression post. This post shows the work on the anchor locker and associated vertical winch mounting.

Below – Two pieces of 19mm hardwood ply are the basis of the blocking used for the winch mounting, with both bonded together and exposed sides wraped in 2 x 400 gsm double bias.

Below – The trial fit of the blocking pieces and mark up of the winch, chain lock, deck switch and tie point for the end of the rode.

Below – Trenching and cut-outs for the glass/epoxy core reinforcement. The trenches get uni rope and the screws/bolt holes get solid glass rod.

Below next two photos – With the trenches on both pieces filled, and a 38mm long x 25mm diameter piece of glass rod in the holes on one piece, the two were then bonded together.

Below – Next three photos show the panel having cut outs made leaving surrounding glass reinforced edges to the core.

Below – The next five photos show the trial fitting of the winch capstan assembly. The cable in the first photo is for the optics of the rope/chain management system.

Below – The panel with glue applied prior to fitting.

Below – Panel glued and clamped in place.

Below – The lower half, extends under the catwalk beams with the upper butting onto those beams and the forward edge butts the forward structural beam.

Below – The panel was taped in place using an S1 (141mm wide 750gsm weft triax).
Shown here is the lower side with peel ply in place.

Below – Shown here, on the lower side, is the belled or flared cut-out for the chain/rode drop into the locker.

Below – The upper side taped in, with the locker side panels being fitted and taped.

Below – All taping complete on the panel, including some extra leveling glass inside the tapes, and the forward half of the compression post placed.

Below – First coat of three Joton, Jotacoat 605, after sealing the weave in the duflex panels.

Below – Two photos of the completed locker with hardware placed. An access hatch will be built to span this locker and the anchor roller support in the immediately forward locker.