I had the jib up and didn’t see the BIG RED MARKER until the last second.
We were going about three knots. Winds were light. The impact torn the OEM jib in half. I had been using this sail because it’s easier to stuff in the sail bag. I was able to gently ease the upper shroud past the number board without doing any more damage to anything. I then noticed that the anchor cross bar was bent and the anchor roller on the bow was missing. The heavy anchor was still secured in its lashings.
When I reached Islamorada I asked a visiting friend get a replacement roller from west marine, and drop it off to me on their way to the big pine key flea market. (Recommended)
The new roller was a little longer than the old one and of course the holes didn’t line up with the existing ones. I was able to locate new bolts, and some cobalt drill bits to drill a new hole in the stainless. I had some smaller bits but not a 3/8th. You have to have cobalt to drill stainless. Especially without a drill press. If you cruise far enough afield to carry a cordless drill set on the boat, a set of cobalt bits to compliment it is mandatory.
I removed the old bolt remains. They exhibited severe anaerobic corrosion. These would have failed at the worst possible moment, perhaps in a situation where I had to move the boat in a hurry. Hitting that marker turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had replaced the bolts for the cleats suspecting just this sort of issue, and the old bolts seemed fine, to my surprise. So I didn’t, and wouldn’t, have checked the roller bolts because of that. You have been warned.
The slightly different shape of the new roller allowed the fitting of an extra bolt, provided I could trim a little bit off to work around the existing starboard cleat, which I did. I had picked up a few bi-metal sawzall blades for my cordless saw the same place I bought the bits just in case I had to cut the new roller to size. I cleaned up the cuts with a file to keep things finger friendly. The rest of the afternoon was spent installing the roller. Difficult while alone. I used 3M mounting tape around the bolts, instead of buttering the entire bottom of the roller with sealant like the factory had. Perhaps the small space will allow moisture to dry out. I was glad to have the roller operational again. It’s critical to operation of my boat, with her oversized anchor.
The next few days in Islamorada required moving the boat several times due to weather. The new roller functions as expected.
Ix
