rotrax
Well-Known Member
Got to keep First Mate happy! 
When you say that a boomerang won't work in a grooved roller, you may well be right. My "bent link" is made of 1/2" round bar to each end of which is welded a fully slotted link of 1/2" chain. (This for 10mm chain). Being made of round bar ensures that it can rotate easily in the groove in the bow roller. My wife, who also attends to these matters, says it's wonderfulNot in our case. The groove in the roller was sized to take the shank of the anchor but is too wide to keep chain aligned, it simply twists in the groove. The Maxwell windlass is so fast that it generates rotation of the anchor, quite visible in clear Greek waters. Coupled with that a Boomerang will not work with a grooved roller, so for us a swivel is by far the preferred option.
Plus it is Jill's preference and as she does the foredeck I am not going to say otherwise.
Yes, I feel sure a round version would work well for us. I did test the Osculati swivel version but was not impressed. It behaved very strangely on the seabed and affected anchor holding. Possibly would have been OK if we were very particular about laying out the chain but this has never been needed with any other device.When you say that a boomerang won't work in a grooved roller, you may well be right. My "bent link" is made of 1/2" round bar to each end of which is welded a fully slotted link of 1/2" chain. (This for 10mm chain). Being made of round bar ensures that it can rotate easily in the groove in the bow roller. My wife, who also attends to these matters, says it's wonderful.