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Nordhavn 47 Anchor Roller.  That's all there is to it.

Nordhavn 47 Anchor Roller. That’s all there is to it.

During our sunrise departure from Hunter Bay (Lopez Island) I had noticed the anchor roller was squealing and making a gawd-awful noise. I’m sure it made our boat neighbors in that quiet anchorage wonder what the heck was happening at Oh-dark-hundred in the morning. Sorry folks!

The anchor roller hangs out over the water as part of the anchor pulpit, so there is reasonable access from the top, but if you drop something, it is going straight to the bottom! I tied a spare mooring line to the crown of the anchor and lowered it until the weight was on the line, then picked up the now-slack chain and transferred it to the port anchor roller.

Nordhavn 47 Anchor Pulpit with the roller removed.

Nordhavn 47 Anchor Pulpit with the roller removed.

The cotter pin and nut came off the anchor roller bolt very easily and then the bolt slid out and I was able to pull the brass roller up with minimal effort. I was surprised to find that there were no bearings and the pin was completely dry (no grease), which explained the squealing.

I polished and cleaned the bolt/pin and the center of roller, greased everything up good and then reassembled the roller in the pulpit. Once the chain and anchor were transferred back to the starboard anchor roller, no more squealing and I’m happy to report that it’s an easy job.