the anchor rode, like I described above (i.e., trying to bring the anchor in with 200 feet of chain and 100 feet of rope out in very swell conditions, with the bow pitching up and down...how to transfer the load from the rope drum side of the windlass to the chain side?)

Before that day, I'd never had to deal with the rope part of my road in a very swelly place, so I'd never thought it would be a problem! After that incident, I made a note to myself to work out an alternative system, ideally better/more efficient than the one I came up with...but I'd be curious to know what others do.