Knox Anchor Fitting on Bow Roller

[dje67]

Looking to upgrade my Bruce anchor and pretty-much settled on either the Knox 13kg, or might wait until the Lewmar Epsilon becomes available in the UK. In either case I'm concerned about how either anchor will sit when stowed. The info available on both anchors makes it difficult to assess how close the anchor fluke will be to my bow gelcoat.

I've a Bene 36cc with a slightly overhanging bow roller. There's about a 20cm overhang beyond the bow. The Bruce fits nicely there and doesn't contact the gelcoat. My questions to anyone that has the Knox are:-

1) Have you had any issues with the fluke tip contacting the bow?
2) How much of an overhang will I need?
3) With the anchor fully stowed and resting on the forward end of the shank, will the anchor shank sit down on the deck (my Bruce does and I like the fact that the anchor remains in place without 'hanging' off the windlass) or does the Knox naturally want to self-launch (which could also be an advantage, I suppose).

Same questions apply to the Epsilon, but I doubt anyone has one yet.

Anyone got some photos for their bow roller to share?

 

[scruff]

I recon you'll be grand. We have a knox on a moody 34 and it self stows nicely. In fact we keep it on the roller with a little slack in the chain on purpose (if tensioned it rides up about 15mm and roll bar gets too close to furling gear). We need to give it a push with your foot to launch.

We have less overhang than you too, and the fukes are nowhere near the gelcoat - probably a 40mm gap.

Good anchor and has a tenacious hold on the bottom. Rode out a 45kt summer blow and never budged an inch.

 

[NormanS]

You deserve a telling off for having the jaws of that swivel direct onto the anchor. ?
For interest, have you had problems with the Bruce? One of the joys of the Bruce is that it doesn't need a cumbersome roll bar. I'm sure the various anchor makers will supply a profile diagram, which would help to determine whether their designs would sit well on your bow roller.

 

[dje67]

You deserve a telling off for having the jaws of that swivel direct onto the anchor. ?
For interest, have you had problems with the Bruce? One of the joys of the Bruce is that it doesn't need a cumbersome roll bar. I'm sure the various anchor makers will supply a profile diagram, which would help to determine whether their designs would sit well on your bow roller.

He he - new anchor will have an additional c-shackle added. I did expect a comment on that . Might not even bother with the swivel - don’t think it does much anyway.

no real issues with Bruce. Have had 4 or 5 occasions where I struggled to get it to set over 10 years. It has never dragged significantly. On 2 separate occasions I’ve brought up a massive rock in the flukes! The galv is starting to wear off and after my last ‘fail to hold’ a couple of months ago where I ended up having to move to horribly uncomfortable alternative place, I have decided to go for a more ‘new gen’ style.

 

[noelex]

Anyone got some photos for their bow roller to share?

This is not my boat, but this is one of the photos I have taken of the Knox anchor. This shows the typical position and angle adopted of this model while sitting on the bow roller.

Hopefully this is of some help, although obviously the position will change depending on the details (bowroller size etc). I am also not sure this anchor is fully winched back and sitting in the correct position ( would it hit the bow if this was done?), but that perhaps serves to illustate the geometry better.

It is worth making up a cardboard or scrap wood template (or borrow a real example) of any anchor you are considering fitting before purchase. For many anchor designs there are details how to make a full scale model on the website.

 

[Arcady]

I substituted a 15kg Brice with a 13kg Knox without difficulty - but the angle of pull to the windlass is a little lower than usual:

 

[dje67]

I substituted a 15kg Brice with a 13kg Knox without difficulty - but the angle of pull to the windlass is a little lower than usual:

Looks like it fits nicely! Any regrets aboiut the change?

 

[[70521]]

I've just made the same move from a Bruce to a Knox. The roller was undersized for Bruce and it had damaged the gelcoat so I had a new stemhead made, picture attached. Let me know if you need any measurements.

 

[dje67]

That's a nice piece of metalwork! Hoping not to have to replace mine, and the posts so far suggest I'll be OK. It looks a sturdy anchor - you happy with it? Does the anchor naturally want to sit 'shank down' in the roller housing?

Jealous that you've still got hoses on the pontoon - Largs have just removed all theirs (not happy about that!)

I've just made the same move from a Bruce to a Knox. The roller was undersized for Bruce and it had damaged the gelcoat so I had a new stemhead made, picture attached. Let me know if you need any measurements.

View attachment 109235

 

[[70521]]

Jealous that you've still got hoses on the pontoon - Largs have just removed all theirs (not happy about that!)

I can't comment on the use of the Knox as I've only just had it fitted and yet to get out sailing. Geoff from Knox was very helpful and their service is brilliant.

Oh no... I hope to get up to Largs in the summer. Fingers crossed COVID allowing. Looking forward to an ice cream from Nardini's.

 

[yotter]

We are up at Kip, we have water hoses, but not much use since frozen at the moment, and the mains water has just gone off here (at the house). Anyway, we changed from a 16KG Delta to a 13KG Knox last year. The boat is a Dufour 34, we have a plum bow and 2 bow rollers. The Knox is great, no regrets. Only slight issue is that previously we could leave the Delta on the starboard roller and take a visitor mooring on the port roller. The Knox is a bit wider and tends to trap a mooring on the port roller, so we lift it inboard, over the top of the pulpit which is a bit of a pain, but happier to have a more capable anchor. Boat is on the hard, so normally you would be welcome to borrow the anchor to see how it sits on your roller, if only we were not locked down:-(.

 

[doug748]

The top man, on such matters, has done a first test of the Knox and it performed very well:

.

 

[[70521]]

The top man, on such matters, has done a first test of the Knox and it performed very well

I had a rant on another anchoring thread about Panope's methodology, but did look at his review of the Knox it told me very little. I've unsubscribed from the channel and will get out sailing when we can.

 

[dje67]

The top man, on such matters, has done a first test of the Knox and it performed very well:

.

I enjoy his videos - have watched many of them over the last month. Not sure that making an anchor 'backflip reset' is normal in real life. Can't imagine any occasions where I'm ever going to stumble across that sort of event in the Clyde/West of Scotland. But the Knox seemed to do itself proud, which is partly why it is on my list just now. Down-sizing from a 15kg anchor to a 13kg seems counter-intuitive, but the evidence for the performance seems to support that this is the right size for my 36cc. Looks like it should fit, which what my worry was at the top of this thread.

 

[V1701]

I dunno about Panope's methodology but FWIW last Autumn I anchored with my 9kg Knox on the river Douro (Portugal, sandy bottom) through two changes of tidal flow, absolutely no problem and very happy with it...

 

[Ink]

I recon you'll be grand. We have a knox on a moody 34 and it self stows nicely. In fact we keep it on the roller with a little slack in the chain on purpose (if tensioned it rides up about 15mm and roll bar gets too close to furling gear). We need to give it a push with your foot to launch.

We have less overhang than you too, and the fukes are nowhere near the gelcoat - probably a 40mm gap.

Good anchor and has a tenacious hold on the bottom. Rode out a 45kt summer blow and never budged an inch.

Interesting. Is that also the 13kg Knox you have? Have the template by can't get to the boat to measure.

I'm on a swinging mooring - would the anchor need stowing on a 346's deck?

Ink

 

[scruff]

Interesting. Is that also the 13kg Knox you have? Have the template by can't get to the boat to measure.

Ink

Yes, the 13kg.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

This is not my boat, but this is one of the photos I have taken of the Knox anchor. This shows the typical position and angle adopted of this model while sitting on the bow roller.

Hopefully this is of some help, although obviously the position will change depending on the details (bowroller size etc). I am also not sure this anchor is fully winched back and sitting in the correct position ( would it hit the bow if this was done?), but that perhaps serves to illustate the geometry better.

It is worth making up a cardboard or scrap wood template (or borrow a real example) of any anchor you are considering fitting before purchase. For many anchor designs there are details how to make a full scale model on the website.

That's my boat. The anchor does not hit the bow when all the way back but the shank height blocks the keeper pin hole on the starboard stemhead cheek. The pin is 10mm OD so I just pull the anchor in bu hand the last bit, when I can still insert the pin, with a bit of rope on the shackle, and wedge the shank under the pin, securing it to the push pit; that's why the chain is slack. It is secure enough. If I recall correctly, I think I took the photo, when wondering about making an extension out of a stainless channel, to sit inside the cheeks and pivot where the roller pin goes. The idea being to pull the anchor up against the channel for a better secure.

Member MM5AHO who sells Knox anchors, made up a wooden device to store his on the foredeck, smaller yacht than mine, hence a smaller stem head fitting.

I grant you could have taken the picture, common angle, as the boat at that time was on a long walkway that anyone with access would pass by. It's a few years ago because since then the stem head fitting has been off, repaired and re-bedded plus I have new sails and halyards now.

 

[alan_d]

Knox sent me a paper template which I transferred to cardboard and discovered that the flukes of a Knox anchor would penetrate several centimetres into my hull if it was drawn up to the bow roller. I didn't buy one, but my Konsort has a particularly stubby bow roller.

 

[Neeves]

That's my boat. The anchor does not hit the bow when all the way back but the shank height blocks the keeper pin hole on the starboard stemhead cheek. The pin is 10mm OD so I just pull the anchor in bu hand the last bit, when I can still insert the pin, with a bit of rope on the shackle, and wedge the shank under the pin, securing it to the push pit; that's why the chain is slack. It is secure enough. If I recall correctly, I think I took the photo, when wondering about making an extension out of a stainless channel, to sit inside the cheeks and pivot where the roller pin goes. The idea being to pull the anchor up against the channel for a better secure.

Member MM5AHO who sells Knox anchors, made up a wooden device to store his on the foredeck, smaller yacht than mine, hence a smaller stem head fitting.

I grant you could have taken the picture, common angle, as the boat at that time was on a long walkway that anyone with access would pass by. It's a few years ago because since then the stem head fitting has been off, repaired and re-bedded plus I have new sails and halyards now.

Seems like an admirable practice to me, one that would be advantageously followed by many. Hand retrieval of the anchor for that last meter ensures the windlass is not shock loaded, which will be especially bad if the anchor is retrieved 'back to front' or 'upside down' (use a boomerang). Using a keep pin, chain lock or simply lashing the anchor rather than retrieving tight against the windlass and leaving the windlass under tension - again protects the windlass.

Windlass will last longer if cared for.

How to boomerang your anchor right back at you - MySailing.com.au

I have a 13kg Knox, its an admirable product and one to be recommended. I would not suggest making major and expensive alterations to your bow roller in order to fit one as you can buy equally (or you will not detect the difference) as good anchors that will fit your bow roller - and I'm sure you can find other things to for your money. You do not need to oversize - buy what is recommended - if you oversize it may not then fit. I say equally as good - with a caveat - no anchor is perfect (some do not fit on some bow rollers. ) - they are all a compromise. Just watch the videos and some of those weaknesses are illustrated (and some are not illustrated. ).

Jonathan