J/46 anchor roller and Vulcan or Spade anchors

[David Jade]

Has anyone successfully put a more modern anchor with a curved shank like the Vulcan or Spade on their J/46? We have a Spade and I love the anchor but how it sits on the roller is causing us grief. The curved or arcing shank means it hits the welded on bail before it is fully retracted. I've attempted to solve this by attaching a Mantus Anchor Guard and that works, but now our anchor sits extended and hangs lower and that is causing new issues. When on a mooring in a stiff blow, the bridle lines will rub and chafe on the anchor because it hangs lower. Before I saw off the bail to allow it to fully retract, I'm hoping that someone else has found a simpler solution for putting a more modern shaped anchor on their J Boat.

David

J/46 #19 

Shadowfax

[Bernie Coyne]

Hi David:

 

Our CQR also hangs low in the bow roller, and in the right conditions, causes the bridle lines to rub on the anchor.  My solution, only when we have these conditions, is to turn the anchor upside down in the roller, thereby keeping the anchor well clear of any lines.  Simple but effective.

 

BTW With the anchor in its normal position and raising it, we sometimes raise the anchor too far and it jams in the bail.  I have to hammer it back out.  I was wondering if your Manus Anchor Guard would alleviate that problem?

 

Thank you,

Bernie Coyne

J/46 #10 Mystic Rose  

 

Bernie Coyne

Email: bernie...@outlook.com

Cell/text: 781-789-0762

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[David Jade]

Hi, thanks for your suggestion. I might be able to flip our anchor upside down, so I will try that. I’m not sure with the curved shank it will sit there like that though but it’s worth a try.

 

Yes, the Mantus Anchor guard solves the issue of it jamming in the bail. It also stabilizes it for us since the fluke of our Spade will never make contact with the roller (the bail keep it from coming in that far due to the curved shank). But it also comes with one catch – it hangs below the roller and in the right conditions when anchoring, it too will then catch a bridle line and put a force on it. Ours is loose enough that I can just swing it up our of the way in that case but sometime the weight of the hanging chain pushes it back down.

 

If that bail was not welded on but rather bolted on, I think this would be a much simpler issue to solve. I could swap it for a larger one and then just pull the anchor more into the roller.

 

David             _/)

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[Bernie Coyne]

Thanks David!   When the anchor is upside down in the roller, I use a short length of line to secure it to the pulpit.

 

Good to know the Mantus Anchor Guard will solve my problem….did you select the port or starboard option please?

 

Cheers,

Bernie

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[David Jade]

I can’t seem to find my receipt to make sure, but it looks like I have the starboard version (when comparing it on their order page).

 

Here is a photo on how it fits for our bow. You might have to invert it for yours though (and order the other orientation).

 

Mantus was very helpful in helping me figure out which version would fit best for our anchor. They also have a template you can use to make a mock up out of cardboard to see how it fits.

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[Bernie Coyne]

Thank you David!

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[Ed Sitver]

This issue has irritated me for years on my J/42. I don’t want to give up my preferred anchor (Spade) due to roller fir. I finally took a hacksaw to the bale and installed the Mantus Anchor Guard. Better, but still not great.

Anchor shaft can still dig into the deck.

Still need to flip the anchor upside down in the roller to avoid chafing a mooring ball bridle. More of an issue now that Ventus has a home mooring ball.

Still need to protect the furler from getting banged.

This spring I plan to come up with a bracket to lower the roller, which I believe will allow the anchor to load more completely. I may still wind up trying to rig something on deck to manaage the chain as it goes into the windlass. I think that can prevent the shaft from swinging too high and hitting the furling drum. 

Attached are templates from Spade for constructing mock ups of the Spade 100 and 120 to more easily test fit roller solutions. 

Ed

[douglas wilder]

David

Loretta is hull #2, I have a 87# mantis.  I had the stainless hoops modified for the swing of the shake as it drops off and is recovered.  It actual worked without the mod’s but raising the hoops stopped the minor inference I was seeing.  

Douglas Wilder

SV Loretta

262-844-5932

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From: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Ed Sitver <esi...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 7, 2026 7:41:09 AM

To: J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/46 anchor roller and Vulcan or Spade anchors

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/eb22e657-2830-45ce-92d5-f0562db8a102n%40googlegroups.com.

[David Jade]

Hi Doug,

By modified so you mean bent the hoops into a new shape or cut and extended? 

Were they able to do it in place or did they have to remove the whole stem assembly to take it into a shop?

Any photos? 

Thanks,

David                      _/)

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On Feb 7, 2026, at 10:38 AM, douglas wilder <douglas....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[douglas wilder]

Cut and extended.  Welded in place, besides the anchor roller is part of my stem assembly on these boats.  Mantis has a design without the roll bar, if that concerns you.

Note the picture was taken to show damage Loretta received when a 50 benateau dragged sideways into her.  (Other then gelcoat, no damage to the roller, however it did hole his boat). 

Douglas Wilder

SV Loretta

262-844-5932

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From: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David Jade <da...@mutable.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 7, 2026 10:46:18 AM
To: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com>

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[Klaus Bonde]

For our J46 we tried rocna but had problems with resetting in changing wind and current in the Baltic area. We tested a Spade but it did not fit very well  and ended up with a Sarca Excel that sits very well in our bow roler. 

We have used it for the last 3 years sailing Europe, Caribien Bahamas, us east coast, Main and azores. We never had any issues. 

Best regards

Klaus Bonde

Isea, J46, Denmark

Klaus...@mac.com

Sendt fra min iPhone

" Life is good"

[Rod Deyo]

Long post, but it's always fun to comment on anchors and anchoring!

Before leaving for Mexico on our J/42 in 2014, we switched from our 20kg Original Bruce to a new 20 kg  Rocna . To fit the Rocna while leaving the welded bail to protect the furler, SS side plates were added to drop the starboard roller several inches so the Rocna's shaft would fit snuggly under the bail.

This setup has  worked well in extensive coastal cruising from AK to MX. Last year we upgraded our now rather worn original to a newer 20 kg Rocna Mark II which has a larger, heavier blade and more Vulcan-like shaft, but still needed the dropped roller setup.

The combined rode we use for our primary anchors is  250' of 5/16" H-T G4 chain spliced to 350' of 5/8" three-strand nylon rode. The approximately 250 lbs for the chain is as much weight and volume as we want in the anchor locker, while the extra nylon rode allows significant scope in storm conditions, deep, open anchorages, or use as an emergency chain replacement.

Typical anchoring depths and bottom types wildly vary in AK-BC-WA. We see anchorage depths to 100' with tidal currents in anchorages sometimes running to 3-5 knts and summer "breezes" to 30-35 knts. For summertime PNW-BC cruising, we most commonly anchor in 15-80' with mud, weeds, hard sand, or rock bottoms, or all the above at once. Crowded anchorages, narrow bays, and/or close by drying flats often require employing very limited scope, hopefully 2:1 at high tide, rarely more 3:1,  and sometimes as little as 1.5:1 in calm conditions or with a stern tie.

We found that the Rocnas work better in a wider range of bottoms types than the Bruce, especially with weeds and kelp, or hard sand and rock. The Bruce is better in soft mud. Setting the Rocnas properly is different from the Bruce and is best done by letting out 10-15' exta chain on the bottom before slowly backing while letting out any additional chain. The newer Rocna Mk II tends to set a bit faster.  With the all-chain rode they have both performed well in the constantly shifting PNW-BC tides and winds. With care in setting, the Rocna is reliable in the kelp or rocky bottoms of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, S. Calif's Channel Islands, or Baja MX.

We carry four anchors on the boat: 20 kg Rocna Mk II on the bow roller and and stowed below are a 20kg Original Bruce and 25 kg Mantus. We also carry a Fortress FX-23 emergency/stern anchor with short chain and 150' of nylon rode in a bag stowed ready to use in the anchor locker

Hope this is of some value!

Rod Deyo

J/42 Northern Lights (#61)

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Rod Deyo

[Ed Sitver]

Rod, 

That’s exactly what I was thinking of doing to lower the roller. Glad to hear that worked for you, and hope it works for my Spade. I’ll do some trials with a less expensive, more easily workable material before cutting the stainless, but I’ve made cardboard “anchors” from the Spade templates, and it looks like lowering the lower roller will work. I have a bolt along the top, front of the roller to keep the rode from jumping off, but still plan to add a bolt-on bale to protect the furling drum, while adding height to the bale. 

In retrospect, I should have had the patience to make the roller fix before hacking off the bale, but it was making me crazy. 

Ed

[Rod Deyo]

One thing to be aware of when dropping the bow roller a few inches is that the chain to the windlass runs across the forward edge lip of the roller-chainplate assembly. There seems no real problem with this other than chipping the chain's galvanization over time. The easy fix we found is to fit a small piece of HDPE on the front edge lip so the chains runs smoothly over it instead. Over time the HDPE piece develops chain grooves and needs to be replaced (we've replaced ours twice in 10 years).

Rod Deyo

J/42 Northern Lights (#61)

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Rod Deyo

[Ed Sitver]

Rod… Good point on the chain not having a fair lead with the lower roller. I like the HDPE idea.  Thanks, Ed

------------------------------------
Ed Sitver
esi...@gmail.com
WhatsApp:  +1 303-570-5071
Mobile: +1 303-570-5071
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[David Jade]

Our J/46 has a section of HDPE on the deck between the roller and windlass. Keeps the deck from being damaged by the end of the anchor shank, shackle, or chain. Previous owner put it there.

 

David             _/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

From: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Ed Sitver
Sent: Saturday, February 7, 2026 7:07 PM
To: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/46 anchor roller and Vulcan or Spade anchors

 

Rod… Good point on the chain not having a fair lead with the lower roller. I like the HDPE idea.  Thanks, Ed

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[David Jade]

Rod,

 

This seems like a fairly easy fix if it works. There’s plenty of extra holes in the assembly for attaching some plates to move the roller lower. What I’m not sure though, is if it will fix the bridle chafes on the anchor when on a mooring issue that we have. Do you ever have that issue with the Rocna or is it tucked up close enough to not be an issue?

 

David             _/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

From: j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Ed Sitver
Sent: Saturday, February 7, 2026 6:08 PM
To: J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [J/4X-owners] J/46 anchor roller and Vulcan or Spade anchors

 

Rod, 

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[Rod Deyo]

David,

We've not had a problem with a mooring bridle chafing. The original Rocna and  our newer Mark II are pretty well out of the way, perhaps a spade anchor or Vulcan would sit lower and potentially chafe.

When on a mooring ball in the San Juans or Gulf Islands (moorings are exposed to winds but not to large waves), we use a special 1" nylon yacht braid bridle with chafe guards we made up. The bridle is relatively short so we dont't pull it horizontally where it might chafe (I don't have the exact measurement available here, but total length ~20'). A long bridle with rougher water and the boat yawing might be more of an issue.We've seen no problem with our current setup in 25-30 knt winds. 

Rod

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Rod Deyo

[David Jade]

Ah, San Juans (our former cruising grounds). Well familiar with the ring-only mooring balls there. The issue here on the east coast is that all mooring balls seems to have a 6-10ft long floating pick up line. So it doesn’t matter how short you keep the bridle, it’s all going to be pulled more horizontal with any wind with the ball sitting 10ft in front of you.

 

We too have chafe gear and a heavy bridle and that may just be the best it gets unless we can get our Spade tucked up as well as your have been able to.

 

Thanks for the info, gives me more options to try.

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[Fred Hawes]

Hi David,

We are using a 15KG ROCNA. I see no issues, except maybe that you need to give it a kick to get it started.

Fred Hawes

Anona, Hull 16

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