Index

Anchor Locker - Foredeck Conversion & Common Issues.
INDEX - Deck Hole, Lid, Close Top of Bulkhead, Seal Bulkhead, False Bottom, Drain hole, Stinky Locker, Water Proof Locker,

NOTE

While this deck locker project is feasible, (one boat was converted), I now think this conversion is of questionable value given the small volume of the locker due to the forward sloping bulkhead of the first production hulls. 
2021 - It turns out that Greg Overton has an excellent  way to do this project.  See Tech Tip B11a."  Bob.

Have you ever wanted a bow anchor locker in your first production SJ23?  The convenience and safety of being able to store your anchor where it's needed it not to be understated.  Despite the fact that Panache has an excellent anchor roller, she can't hang on a mooring with the anchor on the roller.  The anchor stock will saw through the two mooring lines laid over the rollers.  Not good!  Other style bow rollers would have the same problem.  This forced me to temporarily store the anchor on the cabin sole, a location that was real nasty on my toes and a nuisance when storing anything there.  That was then.  Today my anchor is stored on a removable shelf at the forward end of the V berth.  It was a temporary solution that has become permanent.  When I'm in cruising mode it goes to the bow roller.  The bitter end of the 25' anchor chain hangs inside the hawse hole from a clevis that is slightly larger than the 1.25" inside diameter of the hawse hole.  I simply flip up the hawse cover, reach in to pull up the end of the chain, attach it to the anchor stock and I'm in business.  Very convenient and it sure beats trying to find the end of a chain in a bucket.  From my point of view, removing the anchor from the cabin sole was like increasing the floor space! 

When the anchor was stored on Panache's floor I longed for a locker with a deck opening.  But I put this conversion on the back burner because I thought that cutting a hole might weaken the bow.  That is, until I discovered that all later productions of the SJ23 Mark I have a factory installed bow anchor locker.  All right, so there is hope after all.  However, there is a hitch (like you didn't expect this?).  There are two factors that make a factory deck anchor locker possible.  The top of the anchor locker bulkhead is bonded to the under side of the deck to maintain the hull strength (Titanic style bulkheads are frowned upon today!) and the bulkhead is sloped 5⁰ aft, into the cabin.  The aft slope creates a big deck hole to stuff an anchor through without sacrificing the forward berth space.  Panache's bulkhead slopes forward 20⁰, making for a small anchor locker of questionable value.  The bulkhead I'm referring to is the dividing wall between the locker and the cabin. 

The photo at left is from a Mark II SJ23.  This is the "convenience feature" that the later version SJ23 owners take for granted.  The locker is huge as it can easily store 200' of line, 20' of chain and a 5Kg Bruce anchor with room to spare for a small propane bottle.  See Tech Tip C07.  Note the bungee cord tied to the bottom of the lid.  The tension keeps it in place.  
The locker stays cool if you give it an occasional dousing of water.  Not that I recommend storing food in the anchor locker, but a buddy stores his canned drinks and beer here.  I "find them" quite quenching so occasionally slide over to his boat when he isn't around.  What a novelty.  Why the cans don't explode when the bow crashes into waves is something I still can't figure out.  But they are usually well nestled on top of the anchor line so they must experience a fairly smooth ride.  Funny, how I always get thirsty when I lift his anchor! 

ANCHOR LOCKER HISTORY - "The anchor locker came along with the newer interior pan, probably in 1989 or so, with a minor modification to the deck and a removable locker lid.  I tooled the interior mold but not sure if I did the locker lid.  You can tell the difference between the old and new interiors easily. The new has a locker lid on the bow, leading into the anchor locker that has less than adequate space for enough rode and anchor due to the pointy bow.  The bulkhead seems to suffer abuse easily.  The newer interior has some marked improvements, though: the space under the V-berth hatch is a molded/bonded fibreglass box that adds stiffness to the forefoot of the boat, and the sleeping platform where it bonds to the hull is wider with more surface area.  It stiffens the rather flat bow sections with little added weight.  I think there are a few little tweaks in the main cabin and quarter berth as well.  Second generation tooling is a nice place to make little changes.  I was not too enthusiastic about the anchor locker idea: the 28 has it, but there were market pressures to conform to what an interior designer thinks a boat should look like.  The one who writes the checks makes the final value judgements, so I just built it.  Perhaps a viable solution is to move the anchor to the stern and use the bow for some other storage purpose.  Most know that I am an anchor from the cockpit guy, with safety and simplicity in mind, and then tethering off the bow when all gets settled.  Not as pretty and yachty as a little boat towing a beautiful little dinghy behind on a calm sea, but then again, I don't tow stuff either.  For good reasons.  Keep sailing."  Gleno

The anchor locker bulkhead of the original SJ23 is actually the fibreglass hull liner wrapped around the front with an access hole cut through it.  There is at least one layer of 2" wide 1.5 oz roving in the locker to bond the bulkhead to the hull.  It was painted over with interior gel coat.  Foamy mush was sprayed between the liner and the hull for rigidity.  The hull liner was coated on the cabin side with gel coat to improve appearance.  People are finicky about silly things like this!  The bottom of the locker is flat and the bulkhead slopes forward at (20⁰).  A 1" wide air gap above the bulkhead was cosmetically closed with a piece of teak faced plywood screwed to the cabin side of the bulkhead.  More people finicky stuff.  The centre of the bulkhead was cut open to create a submarine shaped access hole to the locker.  Judging from the irregular cut of the hole, it was done after installing the liner.  I think it is was through this hole that the skinny kid in the factory tightened the nuts for the trailer eye, pulpit feet, cleats, toe rail and wired the navigation lights!  More on this later.  You can just see an example of the factory bulkhead hole in Artful Dodger's cabin in Tech Tip C03.  On Panache I covered the bulkhead hole with a teak latching door.  Besides the fact that it looks better it's a great way to hide the anchor line and keep the grungy lake bottom smell out.  See Tech Tip B25.  With the door closed and the drain hole letting the line dry, I no longer smell the damp anchor line.  Wet anchor line doesn't smell particularly good, especially if it has laid around in a locker for awhile!  I'm told it is even worse in salt water. 

In subsequent builds (don't know what hull number) of the SJ23 the flat bottom of the locker was eliminated by moving the bottom of the bulkhead forward to the stem and sloping the top of the bulkhead aft 5⁰ to create more deck space for the lid.  The full perimeter of the solid bulkhead was fibreglassed to the hull and deck to create a water tight seal and to stiffen the forward portion of the hull.  The bow hardware and the nuts were tightened through the deck hole.  The fasteners are quite easy to reach so the factory no longer needed the tall skinny kid!  See how a simple design change can improve things for both the factory and the boat owner?  I have no idea at which serial number the switch over was made. 
 

Read important safety note below.

CUT THE DECK HOLE & FORM THE LID - The top of the locker of an early version SJ23 is 13.75" long, being equipped with a forward sloping bulkhead.  The locker of a late version SJ23 is 15.75" long, being equipped with an aft sloping bulkhead.  This will determine if this project is feasible to you.

Since early and late production SJ23s have identical hulls, there is no fear of weakening the bow of an early version boat by cutting a hole in the deck.  The photo shown below is of an early production Mark I SJ23 that was modified and raced for many years.  While the corners of this locker hole were cut square you should cut radius corners to prevent stress cracks.  Having said this, the hull is still as solid as the day it came out of the factory.  Panache is hull #109 with a forward leaning bulkhead and the lid dimensions for her potential locker are shown at right.  The drawing is not to scale or perspective.

Before you cut the hole you must determine if your anchor can fit through it.  This is where a template becomes a really effective tool to determine feasibility, size and position.  Fold the template in half along the fore/aft dimension to ensure it is symmetrical.  Draw a center line along the fold and use it to align the 'lid' along the center line of the hull.  This way you can position the hole on the deck without optical illusions affecting your judgment.  Equal spacing to both toe rails is important.  There is nothing worse than a really good job that isn't laid out symmetrical.  Planning and execution are everything.  If your deck hardware is installed inside the lid dimensions, I see nothing wrong with relocating the hardware, scaling the hole down or beefing up the hardware mounting on a skinny place.  Remember to leave enough deck surface to support the hardware for its intended load and ensure that you can slide your anchor through the locker hole BEFORE you cut the deck!

Apply 4" wide masking tape on the deck where the outline of the hole will be drawn.  Trace around the template for the cut line.  The 4" wide masking tape  on the deck will also prevent the jig saw from marring the gel coat with black skid marks.  Drill a sequence of tiny holes along the line to start the cut.  If you start at the anchor line hole the messy start marks will be removed with the material.  Use a new double cutting jig saw blade.  This style of blade cuts both up and down, leaving an extremely smooth face without lifting chunks of gel coat.  Cut along the line.  Be meticulously accurate about making this cut because the deck section you remove will become the lid for the anchor locker.  Also ensure you hold the blade at the vertical so the lid can be removed.  You only have one chance to do this right, or wrong!  Do a dry run to ensure that the saw fits inside the toe rail.  The straightness and uniform air gap around the lid will be scrutinized by all the silver haired dock watchers!  So take your time and cut straight.  Think about the last time you carved a pumpkin.  Support the lid from the bottom as you come to the end of your cut.  Lift the locker lid out.  Smooth any rough edges with sanding block.  Store the lid inside a plastic bag to keep the wood core dry and immediately work at sealing the exposed core of the deck hole.  I suggest machining the edge on the same day it is exposed and seal it with a minimum of one coat of epoxy.  So be prepared.  (Good old Scout motto).

NOTE: The cut line should be as narrow as possible to prevent the lid from sliding sideways in the hole.  This helps to protect the hinges if you install them.  Also a good reason for a latch on the opposite side.

SUPPORT THE LIP - Fabricate a very strong one piece lip to support the locker lid at the perimeter of the hole and to restore most of the strength to the deck.  The lip must be strong enough for a crew to stand on with no hint that it will give.  A lip can be made from 1/4" thick 2.5" wide fibreglass or plywood saturated in epoxy.  It must fit flush with the underside of the deck for maximum strength so remember to allow for the curvature of the deck.  Regardless of which material you use for the lip, select a suitable thickness appropriate to its strength.   If you prefabricate the lip as a complete assembly, it will be easier to shape and align to the opening than to struggle with individual pieces.  A single piece will also shorten the job of sealing the exposed wood core in the deck.  Fit the lip in place so it protrudes equally into the hole, about 1/2" all around.  Remember the dock watchers!  Use lots of clamps to hold it in place while the epoxy cures.  The end result of superior workmanship is a reinforced deck and lip that are strong enough to stand on.  A rubber gasket is not required as water will flow out the drain hole.

You must seal the exposed cores as soon as possible.  I prefer to undercut the exposed edges (the dark grey sections in the diagram above) about 1/8," leaving the top skin intact.  Use a Dremel tool with the router attachment for this job.  Then epoxy the support lip to the underside of the deck and apply a coat of unthickened epoxy to all core material.  This will create a 1/8" deep "groove" that will be easier to fill since the "top skin" and "bottom lip" will contain the fibreglass and epoxy filler.  Fill the gap flush to the edge of the top skin.  Seal the undercut edge of the lid using the same technique.  You won't have the benefit of filling a "gap" but you can create a temporary one with thin plywood clamped to the underside of the lid.  Cover the plywood with wax paper to prevent bonding.  Remember to create a 1" diameter hole at the forward edge of the lip and lid for the anchor chain/line.  Round the corners of the lip slightly so the gel coat will stick.  Finally cover all repaired surfaces with gel coat to protect against UV damage.

STRENGTHEN THE LID - Most San Juan sailboats and other with similar designed anchor locker, suffer from a weak, flexible locker lid.  You won't find many owners who will let you stand on their lid.  This is due mostly to delamination inside the lid since little effort was made to strengthen the skin to skin bond after the cut out was made.  If you drill some 1/4" diameter holes (3" apart) through the bottom skin to the inside of the upper skin and fill them with epoxy, it will bond the two skins together, solving the problem.  See Tech Tip B15 for a detailed description of the technique.  
NOTE - If you have an anchor roller and want to sail with the anchor hanging in ready mode, you should cut a 1" diameter recess hole for the anchor line/chain at the forward end of the lid so the lid can lay flush in the deck recess.

SECURE THE LID - There are couple of popular ways to open and secure the locker lid.  Many people leave the lid to float free in the deck recess and secure it down with a bungee cord.  This requires an eye strap attached to the bottom of the lid and another near the middle of the bulkhead.  The bungee cord must have sufficient tension to hold the lid down when the boat is heeled.  See photo above.  It is can be lifted from the finger hole in the center of the lid.
The other popular method is to install a couple of strap hinges on the port side and a latch on the starboard side, (opposite if you are a lefty?).  The conversion show at right was done by an owner.  When flipped open the lid is secured to the pulpit with a short bungee cord that is totally out of the way.  I prefer this installation over the loose lid/bungee cord method because it leaves the deck clear for secure footing while a person can use both hands to do anchor work.  There is no risk of loosing the lid.  Remember to seal the wood core in the deck with epoxy where the bolts go through.  And lastly the lid can be held down with a couple of bungee cords or a line across the top. You determine which technique is best for you. 
To make a safe finger hole, drill a 1" diameter hole and then round the inside corners with a router so it doesn't take your finger off your hand. 
HINT - A friend of mine stores a pair of rot proof grippe gloves inside a stainless strap attached to the bottom of the lid.  Very handy there to handle anchor line.  It's amazing how the gloves always fit regardless of who does the anchor work! 

CLOSE THE TOP OF THE BULKHEAD TO THE DECK - Having cut a deck hole it is now quite easy to access the forward side of the bulkhead.  There is a 1" wide air gap above the bulkhead that must be bonded to the ceiling so the deck is structurally strong enough to support an adult.  You can do this by inserting a section of formed fibreglass board and epoxy it to the locker side of the bulkhead.  Roughen the inside of the bulkhead with a hand grinder.  Wear a mask as this is very dusty.  The cabin access hole through the bulkhead must also be closed to keep water out of the cabin.  Piecemeal fibreglass work can be very tedious and messy.  Fact is, you will likely leave a tiny hole somewhere so water can drain into the bilge.  Not good!  For this reason I'd be tempted to seal the hole and reinforce the deck with a single section of fibreglass board.  Seal it with Sikaflex and secure it with nuts and bolts all around.  After all, the butyl rubber at the toe rail holds the majority strain of an SJ23 together, not the bolts.  See Tech Tip B16.   DON'T leave any rough edges exposed inside the locker.  They will snag the anchor line and do God knows what else at the worst possible time.  Verify that the sides of the bulkhead are sealed to the hull.  Finally, install a nice section of teak plywood on the cabin side to cover the repairs.  If you want to get real fancy you could build a shallow cabinet to store little things that you will never use!  Finishing trim like this satisfies the finicky people and adds value.
 

SEAL THE LOCKER BULKHEAD (2019) - Shortly after I bought Panache in 1986 I drilled a drain hole in the anchor locker and installed a false bottom of puck board, sloped to the drain hole.  In 2018 I discovered the false bottom had broken free of the locker wall, cracking the seal.  This likely happened with the longer, heavier 1/2" anchor line I put in the locker but I have no idea how the drain hole plugged with cured sealant.  Anyway, the water that dribbled from the wet anchor line flowed nicely into the bilge!  180' of wet 1/2" line relates to a lot of water which explains why the cabin was humid at the end of summer.  Water in the bilge just before winter storage is a bad thing so this not going to happen again!!!!

To effect a repair I opened the drain hole and removed the false bottom.  While dry fitting a new 1/4" thick fibreglass bottom I discovered the lower sides of the bulkhead (below the top of the 2" wide ledge in the forward berth) are not extended to the hull.  This triangular gap is 2" wide at the top and tapers 12" down to 1/2" wide at the bottom.  You have to get your head really deep inside the locker to see this.  What a surprise after all these years.  These 2 passages let water flow directly from the locker to the bilge.

Prior to capping the gaps I removed a lot of my water proof orange fire retardant coating with a knife, chisel & rotary wire brush.  This is a tight spot so a rotary brush with a small drill was the easiest way to go.  Cardboard templates ensured the new fibreglass caps would fit.  They are a mirror image of each other.  At this stage of the job the dry fitting of components is complete as is a dry run for applying the sealant.  The combination of foam and fibreglass board will seal the locker and strengthen the bulkhead to support the deck mounted pad eye as in Tech Tip F36.  

EPOXY - If you want to epoxy the board to the hull use thickened epoxy so it sticks to a vertical surface.  If your fiber board is too thick for the cloth to easily conform over the edge, taper the edge of the board down to 1/8" to form the fibreglass cloth over.  The installation procedure is similar to that using sealant with a few epoxy type exceptions.  Using epoxy is a far more complex process.  Wear gloves or a mask where required for the following steps.

• Roughen the wall and edge of board with 50 grit sand paper.  Wash all with acetone.  Mask & vacuum.
• Outline the board against the hull and bulkhead with a Sharpie.
• Spread thickened epoxy where it is required and position the board in place.  Gloves.
• Lightly clamp the board to the bulkhead with a couple of C clamps.  Epoxy should ooze out so run a popsicle stick over it to form a fillet.  Gloves. 
• Let cure for 24 hours.
• Apply a fillet of thickened epoxy to close and strengthen the joint at the edge of the board.  Lay strips of wet fibreglass cloth over the wet joint covering the board, fillet and the hull.  No need to make it pretty here.  You need strength.  Gloves.

FALSE BOTTOM - Since Panache's anchor locker has a flat bottom that can collect water I installed a sloped false bottom of fibreglass board above it to direct water to the drain hole.  The false bottom rests against the walls and is removable for service. 

DRAIN HOLE - Drill a 1/16" hole at the lowest spot inside the locker.  This is the surest and easiest way to drain the locker drip dry.  Drill out through the stem, perpendicular to it, sloping downward.  Drill this pilot hole very slowly so you don't "blow out" the gel coat on the outside.  Damage to the gel coat can be minimized with masking tape on the outside and by holding a backing block of soft wood against the stem to drill into.  Enlarge the hole to an adequate flow size by step drilling from the outside with a 3/16" bit.  Again, drill slowly.  Seal the inside of the hole with epoxy using a pipe cleaner.  It's my experience that a 3/16" hole is large enough to allow most debris to dribble out without plugging the hole.  But size the hole to suite your local requirements.  It all depends on how clean the anchor line is when you stuff it in the locker.  The factory drain hole was 1/4" ID. 

STINKY LOCKER - If you want you have any chance of a crew "gleefully volunteering" to pull up the anchor line the second time, the locker must smell reasonably good.  That grungy smell comes from stagnant water, mud, weed and whatever life form lives in the bowels of an anchor locker.  There are two depressions where water can accumulate; one just above the trailer eye fitting and the other at the flat bottom.  Wash them with acetone, roughen the surface with a rotary wire brush and pour in enough epoxy to fill them.  This way water can flow out the drain hole where it belongs.  In addition, install a grate just above the bottom of your locker so the drain hole stays unobstructed by the anchor line.  A piece of EnviroTile is excellent for this, see Tech Tip B13, and so is perforated aluminum as shown at the bottom of Randy's locker equipped with the deck lid.  His locker is painted with black truck bed liner to water proof the inside.  Panache's locker is also sprayed with truck bed liner for the same reason.  The anchor line can now drip dry.  Despite the grate, every once in a while you should check the bottom of the locker for debris that has fallen off the anchor line.  This is the stuff that plugs the drain hole. 
NOTE - It is especially important to have a dry anchor locker if you store a propane bottle or beer at the top of the locker.  See Tech Tip C07. 

WATER PROOF THE INSIDE OF THE LOCKER (2024) - During 1999 I sprayed the bottom portion of the locker with a fire retardant coating to seal the fibreglass from water.  I wish I could remember the name because it does an amazing job of keeping the fibreglass dry.  In the cured state it is a bit spongy and tough as nails.  Then in 2014 I was given a long anchor line that would easily fill the locker.  So to expand the water proofing to the top of the locker I sprayed a coat of tough truck bed liner in the locker, top to bottom.  An aerosol can is perfect for this application.  Just as long as the bed liner you use can stand up to the regular dousing of water and abuse from the line, chain and anchor.  Frankly I think the back of a pick up truck takes a worse beating than an anchor locker which is why I didn't hesitate to use truck bed liner. 
2024 - However, it turns out the truck bed liner cannot stick to the fire retardant but sticks very well to the fibreglass.  Although, it took abut 8 years before it started to release from the fire retardant.  Unknown to me, the flakes of truck bed liner plugged the locker drain hole and the first load of wet anchor line filled the locker with water to ~12" deep.  In Spring 2024 I scraped off the flaking truck bed liner, leaving a perfectly water tight locker coated on the bottom half with fire retardant and the top half with truck bed liner.  All is good and I'm not pursuing this job any further.

The alternative to the spray coating would be to apply a coat of Interlux Bilgekote paint.  Use white so you can see inside the locker.  Bilgekote demands a bottom temperature of ~5C.  Thorough preparation will be everything for success. 

CONCLUSION - Voila, now you have a foredeck anchor locker that can hold 200' of 1/2" line plus 20' of 5/16" chain and an anchor.  As a rule of thumb, the minimum length of chain should be equal to the length of the hull.  You might even find enough space to store a second anchor line (in a bag) when you need to deploy two anchors to keep from "sailing" at anchor during a blustery night. 
 

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