Anchoring with an electric windlass

[jbinbi]

Having sailed for 55 years, I am kind of embarrassed to ask this question.

My boat has an electric windlass. For the past 55 years my windlass has been my arms. Drop the anchor is very easy, push it over the rollers and let the rode go through my fingers. Pulling it up, not so easy.

With an electric windlass, I know I can lower the anchor electrically, just hit the down button. However, I think I can just release the brake by putting the winch handle in the slot and loosening it, and won't it just freewheel then? Drop by gravity.

Which is the method most use? Burn battery, or just let it fall?

Thanks.

[wrwakefield]

Hi J,

I prefer gravity. It is much faster and the speed is totally controllable using the brake/clutch. (You can stop a free fall...)

But then we usually anchor in 50 to 80 feet of water. Controlled free fall takes maybe 15-20 seconds in those depths; motoring down would take a minute or three...

We are typically already slow backing when the anchor hits bottom, so then I slow down the descent to lay the chain along the bottom as we back as opposed to making a pile...

Cheers!

Bill


Bear with me: My touch screen device's auto-correct rarely is; but at least the text is tiny...

[Kenomac]

We use both methods. More often the motor method.

[Cheechako]

I used the clutch and gravity method the most.

[Dockhead]

It's interesting to see what others do, so not at all an embarrassing question.

I exclusively motor my anchor down, because I do it from the helm. It's much easier to do it from the helm while I've got my hand on the Morse control and the wheel. Like that it's a simple, single-handed job. A chain counter would make it even easier.

I do not retrieve the anchor from the helm, however. Here it's a luxury if you have a crewman you can trust with the windlass.

[Lantau]

Some windlasses have multiple settings (requiring internal adjustment), including a setting with no manual down (some of those powerboats out there where the coxswain never leaves his cushy helm chair, instead just pushing up/down buttons). I think that's very dangerous for a cruising boat. One needs the ability to drop the anchor without any power.

We almost never use power down for dropping the anchor. We always use it for retrieving it!

Of course an asset of power down is that the chain comes out slowly, avoiding potential snags in the chain locker or hawsepipe.

[gjordan]

Both methods have their place. I always used the clutch method, but almost all of my anchoring was done with the mate at the helm and myself on the fordeck giving hand signals to the mate. Nice silent signals. If you are single handing or whoever you sail with is not physically as fit as they used to be, then I think powering down from the helm is a good safe way. As has been stated, you are in control of the engine and rudder to keep things in order, rather than having to run the length of the boat to make a quick blast of power to keep things straight. I had never thought of a chain counter at the helm, but that would certainly help. Yes, powering down is slower, but certainly a viable option. Good Luck. _____Grant.

[sy_gilana]

Always use the clutch method, because it takes so long to motor down that you never touch bottom where you intended. If I am single handing, and conditions don't allow me to go for'ard, I rig a shackle and pin where the threads have been filed off, a long lanyard and you yank the pin out and awa' she goes.

[Lepke]

If you want to anchor in a specific spot - specific depth, crowded anchorage - you drift a long way motoring your anchor down and then more for proper scope.

[maxingout]

We use the gravity method. No problems so far.

[tomfl]

I suspect the depth of water you are anchoring in is a big factor. I normally anchor in less than 20 feet and commonly less than 10 feet. In the Keys it is common to find these shallow anchorages with water clear enough to see the anchor. It also takes seconds for the anchor to reach the bottom. I would worry if I did not use the electric motor there would be a pile of chain over the anchor that might hinder setting. I normally let out say 15 feet in 10 feet of water, drift back till the chain starts to get tight, let out another 15 feet, drift back, another 15 feet, drift back till I hit the 50 or 75 foot ribbon on the chain.

In deeper or more crowded anchorages I would probably use a different method. Another consideration is when using a Bahamian anchor method I don't think I would do it without using the electric winch.

[noelex 77]

Both methods are fine.

On this forum Jedi expressed the view that releasing the clutch and allowing the anchor to drop to the bottom helped the anchor set because the impact of the anchor on the seabed broke up the substrate. Since I read this interesting theory, I have tended to use the free fall method. It is very hard to tell if has made any difference, but in clear water you can see the anchor hit the bottom with a mushroom cloud like a mini nuclear explosion. This is strangely satisfying .

The Mantus anchor I use also has the unusual property that with a free fall drop it "flys" in a stable orientation and always lands the same way (upright). I think is a help ensuring a rapid set, but no other anchor I have used (other than the discontinued Flook) does this, so it is not a consideration for owners of other designs.

The most important thing when using either method is to drop the anchor when you are stationary or very slowly going backwards. As the boat drifts further backwards let the chain go at the same rate as the drift. The ideal is to lay the chain out perfectly straight, but put no force on the anchor until a reasonable scope is reached. Once you have a reasonable scope, say around 3:1, you can start putting a little pressure on the rode. This will help straighten out any kinks in the chain, but try not to put lots of force on the rode until you have let out the full scope you wish to use. Then slowly increase the pressure by providing more reverse thrust. We finish with full reverse for 30 seconds, monitoring our position by transits and GPS, as well as the rode itself to check the anchor is not moving.

When laying out the chain, as the boat drifts slowly backwards in light/moderate wind I tend to use the winch power down function with short presses so the rode length matches the amount of drift backwards. In strong wind the power down function cannot release chain fast enough to keep pace with the drift backwards. In these circumstances I use the clutch, adjusting the clutch pressure so the chain laid is in straight line but without any pressure on the anchor. Just before the full scope is laid out I start gradually tightening the clutch with the aim of using the wind and slip of clutch to progressively increasing the force on the anchor. I then attach a snubber to take the load off the windlass and apply some reverse (unless the wind is very strong).

Note the above is the ideal. Most new generation anchors in a reasonable substrate will set well no matter what you do to them. Laying out the chain loosely and putting a sudden high force on the anchor with the momentum of the boat can actually often set the anchor quite deeply due to the high force involved. However, it does not work well if the anchor is struggling to set in the particular substrate.


Try to avoid this sort of pile up of chain. Although this Bruce anchor actually set very nicely on its own when the wind picked up:

[Xlantic]

We tend to use the clutch as well.

In our previous boat we had no choice as the windlass only powered up, not down.

[kas_1611]

I'm sure there is an option to free fall the anchor from my electric windlass but I'll be buggered if I can figure it out so we drop ours on the motor all the time.

Given the rate of drop is actually pretty bloody fast and you have complete control I personally think this is a positive. I know exactly how much chain is out thanks to the counter and have never had any problem with the boat drifting back faster than the windlass can let out the chain. As I like to drop the anchor out until it is just above the substrate before letting it touch bottom as we start to "reverse" to avoid any problems with shackle twists or chain over anchor I find the electric windlass gives me much better control.

Horses for courses and each to their own technique. The important thing at the end of it all is that your anchor is safely and securely set. How you achieve that is entirely up to you.

Keiron

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Xlantic

We tend to use the clutch as well.

In our previous boat we had no choice as the windlass only powered up, not down.

As our boats got bigger and the chains got heavier, we went to hydraulics. Better to slowly drop anchor so chains do not wind up in a big tangle. Pick spot, start lowering(clutched), slowly back the boat as chain goes out, keep backing slowly until the anchor digs in. Also gives a great holding rather than having the whole thing just sit on the bottom(which is actually the most common result of just letting gravity do its thing).