Decided to follow FredH's lead and move anchor off deck on to a roller bracket. Finally got the new anchor bracket installed that I picked up down at Dania flea market. It's rated for a 65 lb anchor, so it's a bit of overkill for my dinky 9# anchor, but for $40 I figured it was well worth it.
Here's the old setup, with anchor chocked on deck.
Also picked up some nice LED lights to put on cabin sides to replace the combo bow light.
New setup. Underside of deck was reinforced with 2 layers of 3/8" plywood/epoxy-cabosil beneath the center cleat/bracket and an additional 1/2" plywood underneath bow cleats. Will also allow mounting a windlass up there if I get too old or lazy to haul the anchor myself!
Was surprised that there were no backing plates underneath the bow cleats!
Bracket has ears on it below the front roller that keep the flukes from bouncing up and hitting hull in rough seas. Also went to 20' of anchor chain to improve chances of anchoring offshore with only 300' of anchor line. For shallow water, just let out the chain, and that anchor is REALLY planted!
