bow pulpit repair

[dogdoc]

Looking for advice on how to clean up the bow pulpit anchor roller area. I am pretty weak in the fiberglass area so need some help. The entire pulpit is ok, no movement, bending etc... We never anchor in deep water and only use the anchor when at the redneck Riviera at the inlet beach. Maybe 6 ft of water at most. Thought of filling the channel with wood and epoxy then mounting the roller on the flat surface, but that will bring the anchor up to high and it will hit the bottom of the pulpit.
thanks

 

[DennisG01]

Looking for advice on how to clean up the bow pulpit anchor roller area. I am pretty weak in the fiberglass area so need some help. The entire pulpit is ok, no movement, bending etc... We never anchor in deep water and only use the anchor when at the redneck Riviera at the inlet beach. Maybe 6 ft of water at most. Thought of filling the channel with wood and epoxy then mounting the roller on the flat surface, but that will bring the anchor up to high and it will hit the bottom of the pulpit.
thanks

Can you explain better? "Clean up" is kind of vague... and you said that the entire pulpit is OK but you want to redesign to have the roller on top of the pulpit? I'm just not sure what exactly the issue is so it's hard to give any advice.

 

[dogdoc]

Just want to fix the defects on the edges of the roller. I do not think putting the roller on top will work because the anchor will hit the bottom of the pulpit. I suppose clean up meant cosmetic repair. The pictures I took did not upload on the first post.

 

[DennisG01]

Ah, OK. That helps.

However... I think you're in for a bigger job than you might imagine. In order to fix those chips, you first have to grind away till you get to solid/good material. I can guarantee you that you'll grind further than you think. If that step isn't taken, the repair won't last.

First... lay a scrap of 1/2" plywood on the pulpit and set the anchor roller on top of that. Verify if it will/will not work like that - whether or not the anchor will hit. If it clears, there's your fix - maybe use HDPE.

If it doesn't clear... some thoughts come to mind - all with using the 1/2" in the "fix"...
-- Get a different style anchor roller that will work as a surface mount - there are plenty available like that.
-- Try a different anchor or anchor style

Here's an example of a surface mount - this is my last boat when I installed the windlass (and the Plasdeck fake teak ). It's a bit hard to see the full anchor roller, but it's a double roller style with the forward roller lower than the aft roller. It will be even easier to make the anchor clear on your setup because of the pulpit.

 

[Hookup1]

I installed a 5-Oceans pivoting anchor roller. Search her for the post. Requires some glass work to widen the groove it sits in and to allow the roller to tilt down. Great improvement!

Pivoting Self-launching Anchor Bow Roller, Length 16-1/4", Stainless Steel - FO4184

MARINE-GRADE HIGH-QUALITY ANCHOR BOW ROLLER- Our 316 stainless steel roller bearings are much more durable than standard 304 stainless steel (common in the industry) and are specifically designed for marine applications.HINGED DOUBLE BOW ROLLER - The top and bottom sections of the roller are...

www.five-oceans.com

 

[dogdoc]

1/2" allows for plenty of anchor clearance, guess its fill and cover. I have some starboard that will work fine. Now how do I fill.

 

[DennisG01]

Actually, you don't even need to fill it. That's the beauty of the HDPE - it covers it up! Make the width of the HDPE just shy of the stanchion plates and that will give plenty of room to thru-bolt the HDPE. You can thru-bolt the roller to the HDPE before installing the HDPE to the pulpit. Use large fender washers - or even some aluminum plate (can get it at HD/Lowes) as a backer. The span of the HDPE is so short that it will be plenty strong.

I would add two more holes in the roller close to the front edge - just like the aft two holes.

What I would probably do with the chips is quickly grind/sand to expose some "fresher" material (don't spend too much time doing this - just a quick and nasty job) and then smear some good caulk - Lifeseal, 4200, 5200, etc - on and around the chips. Just to try and keep any water out to stop them from getting worse.

 

[dogdoc]

have to fill the front of the channel otherwise a large gap under the starboard

 

[Hookup1]

I installed a 5-Oceans pivoting anchor roller. Search her for the post. Requires some glass work to widen the groove it sits in and to allow the roller to tilt down. Great improvement!

Pivoting Self-launching Anchor Bow Roller, Length 16-1/4", Stainless Steel - FO4184

MARINE-GRADE HIGH-QUALITY ANCHOR BOW ROLLER- Our 316 stainless steel roller bearings are much more durable than standard 304 stainless steel (common in the industry) and are specifically designed for marine applications.HINGED DOUBLE BOW ROLLER - The top and bottom sections of the roller are...

www.five-oceans.com

This roller is wider than the original. It was filled underneath. The front of the pulpit had to be notched to allow the stainless frame to sit inside the pulpit. The roller pivots nicely and allows the anchor to self-launch and re-load when coming up. The pivoting roller allows the anchor to transition around the bend instead of a hard 90 degree turn. Most of the off-color patching you see is the GW gelcoat chipping off and filled.

 

[DennisG01]

have to fill the front of the channel otherwise a large gap under the starboard

Re-read what I said above, though. Other than seeing the gap, it poses no structural risk.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I just did that. Filled the channel and mounted a tilt roller.

It was part of the post below
https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/powerwinch-300-capstan.34573/post-253994

 

[dogdoc]

I read that post Skunk. Any chance you could give me some details on how to. I am not well versed in this area.
thanks

 

[seasick]

To a degree, the repairs you do will depend on whether your boat is subject to freezing temps including the off season. If moisture gets into the coring and it has, when the temps get cold enough, the core moisture will expand and will crack the fiberglass shell. I see a lot of stress cracking in the photo but I can't be sure if that is freeze thaw related or mechanical stress caused.
If you are not subject to freezing, the more cosmetic solution should be fine as long as the structure is sound and you say it is.

In the other case where freeze cycles are likely, I would recommend a reconstruction approach to the exposed areas including the whole section under the old roller bracket.

 

[Hookup1]

Those repairs you see above in post #9 were done with West System epoxy and filler. You could also use an epoxy fairing material.

Older GW's have a problem with "potato chipping" the gelcoat off the edges of hardtops, hatches and bow pulpits. Water hangs on the bottom edge of the molded part and gets into the edges first. That has to be ground off and cracks ground out before building up a new surface. I used AwlFair. Then you can paint or gelcoat (I painted). This hardtop was redone in 2022. Bow pulpit was reworked in 2021 but will get refinished along with other topside work in 2023.

 

[dogdoc]

hard freeze not much of an occurrence down here on the treasure coast
think i will do a hybrid and fill the front only and cover it all with starboard and seal it up with 4200

 

[DennisG01]

Leave a weep hole. Regardless of temperature, it's never a good idea to create an area that can trap water - even as small as that.

 

[SkunkBoat]

The pulpits were cored with foam as best I can tell. You can use 1/2" exterior plywood (Not treated).

Its not rocket science. Grinder with 60 grit all of the chips, over drill old holes, sand whatever is currently smooth.... until its clean. Put packing tape over the holes on the underside. put packing tape wherever you don't want epoxy to stick. Nice straight lines.
The channel is angled so you need to stack a few pieces of different lengths. dry fit layers. Understand that the Epoxy filler will also take up space. Coat the pieces with epoxy. fill the holes with filler (drip it in so it doesn't bubble) Make a sandwich with Epoxy, filler, glass cloth, plywood.. The top gets "fairing" filler. sand it smooth. paint it with oil based Rustoleum or similar. Pait the whole thing or paint just the patch. The roller will cover most of it.

Redrill your holes for a new roller. I give a big thumbs up to the tilt roller.

Its actually a good project for learning to use epoxy and glass and fillers. Unless you are perfectionist...then pay somebody (more than you would like) for their time, tools, and expertise.

Don't mix too much at once or it will get really hot and smoke and melt your pot.

I use wonton soup containers... $1.50 pint or $3 Qt you get soup and a container...can't beat that.

Nix the starboard.

 

[ROBERTH]

I filled in mine with a piece of oak wood made as a wedge to fit as a filler, then after grinding bad areas and surfaces to allow a bond, I used structural fiberglass filler and then sanded smooth. Added a thin layer of marine bondo to fill in any perfections and then painted with Interlux.
I installed a Lewmar Bow Roller number 66840008. I had a Delta type anchor at first and my mistake was I didn't slide the roller assy far enough forward. I was just about a 1/4" too short so anchor would hit bottom edge of pulpit, but not really a big issue.
Later, I purchased a Mantus M1 and it has been the best anchor and does not hit.
Now, it self launches every time no issue and will turn itself over when retrieving. This was the best anchor solution I wish I had done years earlier. No more anchoring issues.

 

[DennisG01]

Just an unwarranted side comment here about anchor rollers vs type of anchor

I've found, over the years, that there really isn't a one-size-fits all setup. We all pretty much know that anchor style is often dictated by the sea bottom (grassy, muddy, rocky, etc) as some anchors work better than others in certain situations. The problem that poses for our anchor rollers, though, is many anchor rollers are designed for a certain type of anchor. For example, a single roller setup won't always work well with a plow anchor, like Robert noted above... at least not without a swift kick sometimes. If you look at my picture, though (it's a bit tough to see), it's a double roller and the fwd roller is a good 4" or 5" lower than the aft roller. That setup perfectly fits the shank shape of most plow anchors (whether it's a Delta, Kodiak, etc). In this case, it launches (and rights itself coming in) perfectly every single time.