Wood species for anchor platform

[Tallystick]

What species of wood is preferable for an anchor platform? I have 8/4 teak, and 8/4 white oak stock on hand, and I could also get some 8/4 or even 12/4 ash inexpensively.

I had planned on using the teak, and then started wondering if maybe the white oak would better. Although from this table of properties, it looks like white oak is only marginally stronger than the teak. http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/chemdata/woods.htm Ash is strongest, but I'd be concerned with using it on the deck.

[Quetzalsailor]

Strength isn't the most important issue. Surely, the platform itself isn't working very hard? The rode bears near the boat?

Weight in the end is more important; less is better.

Longevity is most important. The likelihood of dinging by errant anchor handling or docking suggests maintenance of the finish will be tough.

Of the three species you mentioned, Teak is most rot resistant, White Oak's pretty good, Ash is a more distant third. Any wood would do, presuming you maintained the finish.

Plenty of garden tools have Ash handles and they do reasonably well outdoors with poor care.

I use varnished Ash for tillers and tiller extensions. Strong and tough: resistant to breaking. Takes glue and finish well. I made a hollow Ash tiller for my dad's Finn about 40 years ago; it's still in use.

Beware that there's lots more variation between various samples of woods, and various sub-species than tables would reveal.

[Tallystick]

My concern for strength was after reading about Glissando's storm damage. Well I'll probably stick to my original plan of using the teak for the anchor platform, and the white oak for the motor mount platform.

[Quetzalsailor]

What broke that hunk of wood? I thought you brought the anchor rode or mooring pennant off the roller and dropped it in the chock. My roller is wimpy laterally, and has sharpish edges, so I never have a rode over it except during dropping or raising the anchor.

One might have bad thoughts about that pictured arrangement with an obviously added bit of wood installed so that you could not maintain the bottom varnish (between deck and wood). I also do not like the loss of cross sectional area of that hunk of wood due to the bolt holes for the rollers and the mortice for the forestay. There's less wood there than meets the eye.

[Case]

That anchor platform broke in a storm. There were large wakes and Glissando got her pennant over the anchor roller (or the anchor snagged) and it broke. The anchor was on the roller and it bounced off the bow, making a "smile" scar...

Its all there in the Glissando website. Tim Lackey ended up adding a heavy stainless steel plate underneath the new anchor platform. It still bent a bit in another storm! From the lessons learned, always remove the anchor from the anchor roller in a storm so to minimize pennant snagging (or chafing).

- Case