How big anchor can a 1000w windass take

[Sail IC]

I have a Lofrans Cayman 88 1000w windlass, 10mm (3/8 inch) chain, and a small 16kg (35 pounds) Delta for my 44 foot cat.

Tired of being worried at night, so I'm going to buy a new anchor tomorrow.

Like to buy a 35kg (77 pounds) anchor, but will my windlass take it. Next step down is 25kg, but why not get the bigger one. But I don't want to overload and over time break the windlass.

Thanks for any help and advice

[Stumble]

The weight of the anchor is honestly pretty insignificant in the calculation. The rule is the windlass should be sized to 1/3 the total weight of any line plus chain plus the anchor. You anchor is specced at 900kg max pull...

Since you are using 10mm chain at ~ 2.3kg/m and assuming 100m of chain that's 230kg. Leaving you 70kg to spend on an anchor.

If you have 200m of chain, well you need a larger windlass no matter what anchor.

[robert sailor]

The only time the extra weight of the chain comes in is a real deep anchorage. The larger anchor should not be a big issue. Remember the windless is just for lifting chain and then finally just the depth of chain and the weight of the anchor. Don't use it to pull the boat towards your anchor as I see others doing every day as its not designed for that load.

[Sailorman Ed]

Cayman 88, 12v 1000w, max lifting working load is 363 pounds (from the Lofran installation manual)
Ed

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

The only time the extra weight of the chain comes in is a real deep anchorage. The larger anchor should not be a big issue. Remember the windless is just for lifting chain and then finally just the depth of chain and the weight of the anchor. Don't use it to pull the boat towards your anchor as I see others doing every day as its not designed for that load.

First, I agree that the proposed increment of anchor weight is trivial, and will not cause any problems with the windlass.

But Robert, I keep seeing statements like " Don't use it to pull the boat towards your anchor as I see others doing every day as its not designed for that load." and I can't see the truth of them. If the rated pull is 900 kg as reported above, and conservative usage allows lifting 1/3 of that, or 300 kg, why is pulling the boat up to the anchor a bad thing? It takes far less than 300 kg to move my boat up to the anchor, even in moderately strong winds. I can do it by hand in 10-15 knots, and I'm an old fart. So, how can the windlass NOT be designed for such loads?

I know that my Maxwell has that same advice in the manual, but it seems that most manufacturers would really be happier if you never really used their products at all! I think it is a bit of CYA on their part, hoping that by this admonition they will defuse folks who really do overload their gear and whine about its failing. I find that it is simple to estimate the load on the windlass by observing the rate of recovery. When the load goes up, the chain comes in slower, and with any care at all one can avoid overloading the system... whether breaking out the anchor, pulling up the boat to the anchor or just lifting the tackle from the bottom.

Hmm... sorry about the rant! This is something that has bothered me a long time and I didn't mean to vent on you!

Cheers,

Jim

[robert sailor]

No problem Jim we all have opinions. I think its hard on chain strippers when the windless gets really loaded and when you have to pay 120 bucks for freight to get a stripper sent from Scotland you develops opinions. I've come to baby that bloody windless of ours but I don't disagree that in lighter winds the loads are not high even for old farts like us.

[Sail IC]

Thanks for all replies. exactly the information I was looking for.

35kg kobra bought and fitted to replace the 16kg delta.

[ggray]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I think its hard on chain strippers when the windless gets really loaded and when you have to pay 120 bucks for freight to get a stripper sent from Scotland you develops opinions.

I guess you are referring to what I call the chain wheel, and I would agree.

It also must be hard on the galvanizing on the chain.

[Cdicko]

Question for anyone still on this thread,

I’m guessing it takes more load to release the larger anchor from the sea bed, example in a worst case scenario in good holding does this extra load have to be considered? Or is it insignificant?

I have a Quick aleph 1000w windlass with a working load of 120kg and max load of 370kg and want to increase my anchor from 15kg to 25kg, iv done the maths and all is ok when considering anchoring in a max depth of 15m with my 10mm chain (60m of chain in my locker)

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Cdicko

Question for anyone still on this thread,

I’m guessing it takes more load to release the larger anchor from the sea bed, example in a worst case scenario in good holding does this extra load have to be considered? Or is it insignificant?

I have a Quick aleph 1000w windlass with a working load of 120kg and max load of 370kg and want to increase my anchor from 15kg to 25kg, iv done the maths and all is ok when considering anchoring in a max depth of 15m with my 10mm chain (60m of chain in my locker)

In my experience it’s not usual to break free the anchor using the power of the windlass. For me it’s a matter of taking in the slack, pausing as the boat responds to new catenary (or motoring ahead gently), taking in more slack until the chain is vertical and watching for the “break free” moment to haul up the remaining chain and anchor. My previous 2 boats have had ⅝” and ½” chain, both had very powerful windlasses but I was never tempted to use windlass’s brute strength to break out my anchors. My current boat has no windlass and a lead cored anchor rope and I use exactly the same tactic... but I get wet and muddy hands.
My rule of thumb has been to have a windlass that will be able to at least lift the entire shot of chain and anchor if it’s hanging vertically.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Sail IC

I have a Lofrans Cayman 88 1000w windlass, 10mm (3/8 inch) chain, and a small 16kg (35 pounds) Delta for my 44 foot cat.

Tired of being worried at night, so I'm going to buy a new anchor tomorrow.

Like to buy a 35kg (77 pounds) anchor, but will my windlass take it. Next step down is 25kg, but why not get the bigger one. But I don't want to overload and over time break the windlass.

Thanks for any help and advice

The 77 is a very big heavy anchor. I bought one similar once for my 47 ft mono. Got it to the boat and hooked it up and realized, "man this is dreadful overkill" and returned it. I had no problems with a 44 Delta on my 42 cat throughout the Caribe for 2.5 years. With today's new tech anchors something in the 45-50 lb range should be more than enough.

Your windlass will handle any of them.

I agree with Jim about windlass usage. But flat water? Why not, the pull is less than anything you do. Just a few feet of tug and the boat glides to the anchor. I usually just slip in gear for 10 seconds and the boat's over the anchor anyway though. But no don't pull your boat to the anchor in rough water. In rougher water motor the boat over the anchor.