a crazy idea for an anchor winch

[Cheechako]

Yeah, hard to beat that combo. Anchoring is a breeze. I have had situations where ihad to anchor 3 times due to misjudgement in a crowded anchorage or difficult bottom. Glad I didnt have to haul by hand.

[rebel heart]

I haul my rode by hand, like a crazy man!

Chain and a 60lb manson supreme. I goose forward with the engine just to get some way, then start hauling. Keep the momentum up. Once I'm right over the top I snug it up and just keep snugging, with the chain laid over the windlass but the load on a short piece of line with a chain hook. With a 1:1 scope you won't stay buried for long.

[Gabrieln]

I bought a brand new Lewmar Concept (gypsy only) very very very cheap. A discontinued model on sale.
It's 3X bigger than I need and overwhelmingly powerful. No rust, no troubles, no nothing. Came with the original switches and contacts. Very easy to install.

I suggest you to start or just keep looking.

[cat man do]

oooohhh, an anchor porn thread

My bargains are the marginally oversized anchor,




and the marginally oversized windlass, with extras.

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by jared

I've been brainstorming over a manual version. Mainly, I'm concerned about my lady to be able to raise the anchor when needed (and it seems the need is always in the worst conditions) It would work similar to a boat trailer winch with a chain drum modified to fit it. Also, change the gear ratio to haul it up faster but still have a little more power that doing it by hand. I like the idea of it not being permanently mounted at the bow. Anyone see something like that so I don't have to reinvent it?

Did you figure it out? Here is the cheeep manual winch,

1000 Lb. Capacity Hand Winch

They go very very slow, so to make it faster you'd want to add another larger gear, and swap the handle over to it.
Seems like you might as well get a motor that can plug in where the handle goes too. And make the whole thing detach and stow so it won't rust away.

JackB

[boden36]

It is not that hard to make your own electric anchor winch. Weld up a casing with a flanged base and housings for a horizontal shaft. The case can be 3mm plate, the housings any suitable diameter pipe.
Make a reasonably thick flange around the open base of the casing, so it will bolt to the deck and can be sealed. Inside the casing place a cross shaft made from scrapyard stainless bar, with a large sprocket on it. All this is carried on two nylon bushes.

Cut two holes in the deck for the chain to pass through ( these will be hidden by the casing).

Underdeck, fabricate a mounting for a worm drive reduction that you can direct drive with a 12volt DC motor (I used an old starter motor). On the output side of the worm drive, mount a small sprocket to drive the chain from the top unit.

My ratios were 16:1 for the worm drive, and 4:1 for the sprockets. I bought a suitable gypsy secondhand and had a machine shop put the threads on the cross shaft. On the other end is a rope capstan that came off an old manual winch that had not survived. All the basic lathe work I did myself.

The starter motor is a Lucas as they do not have an extension bearing on the pinion.

Part of the casing is made in the shape of a bollard, and the flat top of the bollard houses a press switch for the winch.

The casing is hot dipped galvanized after fabrication.

I have found this setup to be robust, powerful and trouble free for over 20 years. The only limitation is that it is not hand operable if it breaks down, but it never has so far. We anchor with 200 ft of 3/8 chain and a 40lb Bruce.

Regards,

Richard.