By Tom Burden, Last updated: 1/28/2018 How is your lower back feeling these days? Raising an anchor by hand can be a real workout, and whether you own a fishing boat, power cruiser or sailboat, a windlass makes boating easier on your aching back.

Windlasses can be DIY-installed by a boat owner with intermediate mechanical and electrical skills. Mechanical considerations Anchor rollers and alignment Your anchor roller/mount should be of a size and type correct for the anchor you will use. Powerboats commonly place anchor mounts/rollers on their centerline, since they have no headstays. Sailboats, with stem fittings, headstays, furling drums, bow pulpits, etc. Should place their anchor rollers 4'-8' to the right (or left) of the headstay and parallel to the centerline of the boat.

Wooden blocks may be required to raise the anchor roller above the toerail and place it outboard so the anchor won’t bang against the boat when weighed. Some windlasses may require shimming to a point where the rode runs parallel to the deck. Side-to-side alignment is also important for vertical windlasses, which may need to be offset in relation to the boat’s centerline to achieve a fair lead through the anchor mount.

Bow Rollers Dick Mills. Anchor roller (a.k.a. How to Select and Install an Anchor Rode: Part 1 - Duration. How to Select the Best Bow Roller for Your Anchor and Boat. Installing a bow roller is a fairly basic installation undertaken by even the most novice do-it. An anchor roller, or bow anchor roller, serves an important function on a marine craft anchoring system. Anchor rollers ---typically consisting of a pulley guide wheel, extension mast, bearing support system and block mount --- keeps the anchor chain and rode positioned in a steady guide wheel, which extends over the bow lip of the boat.

You need a straight, clean run for the anchor rode, all the way down to the chain locker. Very nice installation on a sailboat. The windlass is hidden below the anchor locker hatch.

The black and silver ring holds a bowsprit for an asymmetric spinnaker. Choosing a windlass that fits your chain locker Vertical windlasses generally require a larger hole for the motor, which hangs below the deck. They’re suitable for boats with larger chain lockers; they require a longer fall for the chain. Horizontal windlasses: most of the self-contained windlass is located on deck. You only need to drill holes in the deck for the chain pipe, wire and thru-bolts.