Years ago I used the rail mounted for my Danforth but I took it off because I was racing and the spinnaker would hang up on it. I don't race my boat any more so at the end of last season I put the rail mounting brackets back on. It certainly isn't as handy as a bow roller but I have an 11 pound Danforth like yours Craig and it is easy enough to stow and deploy from the rail.

My dad used to keep his Danforth lashed to the rail in the cockpit on his boat and it made a remarkably comfortable backrest. You can't see the Danforth in this picture but this was my favorite position to drive from on port tack on his Viking. This was taken a "few" years ago.