Anchor weight on bow. Advice Please??

[Shamsul Hasan]

Have recently started carrying heavy anchor on my Marlin 300.The weight of anchor+chain+rope,is about 35kg.I do 3-4 foot seas at an average of 30 knots, anchor is tightly lashed,just wanted to know if Marlin's bow pulpit is strong enough to carry this weight??.
Thanks

 

[Enough Already]

You should have zero issues with that. My bow pulpit has taken tremendous strain trying to pull up stuck anchors (before I got smart and bought a retrieval ball) and I have seen it flex in a scary way without cracking or breaking. Should be no issue with the weight just sitting there if the anchor is properly sized and secured. However, I would not keep the anchor tightly cinched using the windlass over a long period of time. The whole thing can lock up tight and its a serious project to get it unstuck. I recently added one of these on my pulpit:

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/7278--anchor-lock.html

You pull the anchor tight with the windlass, put the pin through the chain and then release a small bit of tension on the windlass.

Works pretty well for me. Make sure to release the pin before heading out in case there is an emergency situation where you need to deploy your anchor.

 

[seasick]

Is the pulpit strong enough? I would guess so since the force exerted pulling you anchor is far greater than the weight of the anchor , chain etc. If it weren't it would have broken off by now