Windlass at cockpit

[DannyLaChance]

Dear Sea People,

Has anybody installed and successfully used an electric windlass at their cockpit? (The anchor chain running all the way from cockpit to bow abovedeck.)

Any direct testimonies will be sincerely appreciated.

If a similar thread already exists, sorry, and please send me there.

A spectacular time of day to all,

Danny

[stormalong]

Why do you want to do that?

Weight balance?

Control?

Their are solutions that don't require dragging chain across your deck.

What it the boat?

[NorthPacific]

I installed a cockpit switch so that you can lower and raise easier when short handed?

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Danny La Chance,

NO! People use remote switches to activate foredeck windlasses. It is that all that chain running along the deck will chew the devil out of the deck. Also, no one wants a bunch of chain in the cockpit. Said chain will play "snake" and get all tangled and would not flake out well when you went to anchor. The chain, or rope, needs a drop, to stow well, not a horizontal surface. Ideally, you want its weight as low in the boat as possible, so a deep chain/anchor locker is what you're looking at. One wants the rode to run freely going out, and stow so that it will do that.

For singlehanders on little boats (trailer sailers), sometimes the anchoring gear is kept in a milk crate and carried to the foredeck to deploy. One must remember to always secure the "bitter end," prior to deploying the anchor and rope rode. In this case, after you get the hook up, you re-stow the rode, last out, in first, with the anchor on top of the pile. You leave the "bitter end" sticking out to fix to a cleat or bollard on the foredeck, before you lower the anchor. You'll aim for roughly 5:1 scope anchoring this way.

If you have a larger boat and all chain, 3:1 is often enough, depending on the bottom, the tides and the weather. In that case, a remote control will make it a lot easier for a single hander to anchor under control, where he/she wants. Some people also install a chain counter that you can read from the helm, so you know how much chain you have out.

Ann

[HeywoodJ]

Our cat has a windlass that is about 4.5m aft of the bow roller. The chain runs along the deck of the walkway between the mast/main beam and the bow. We have a sacrificial board under the area where the chain runs, but the original build just had the deck, and after 15 years it wasn’t banged up much. When pulling the tension keeps the chain off the deck. When dropping there is more chain running on the deck.

Have seen a few other cats with other arrangements of pipe, board, channel, etc. for the chain. It works and we’re happy with it. Gets the weight out of the bow. The one caution I would make is that the chain running across the deck can be a tripping hazard.

[ItDepends]

I have no idea why you would want the chain coming into the cockpit, but one of the great windlass layouts I have seen was on an aluminum Garcia. The chain locker was at the base of the mast, and the windlass just forward, under the deck. A long pipe welded under the deck carried the chain forward to the bow.

Great for putting the weight in the right place. A lot I liked about that.

[DannyLaChance]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

Our cat has a windlass that is about 4.5m aft of the bow roller. The chain runs along the deck of the walkway between the mast/main beam and the bow. We have a sacrificial board under the area where the chain runs, but the original build just had the deck, and after 15 years it wasn’t banged up much. When pulling the tension keeps the chain off the deck. When dropping there is more chain running on the deck.

Have seen a few other cats with other arrangements of pipe, board, channel, etc. for the chain. It works and we’re happy with it. Gets the weight out of the bow. The one caution I would make is that the chain running across the deck can be a tripping hazard.

Thank you for replying, HeywoodJ! Happy to hear it works for you. Apart from that extra board: no other modifications, like some particular bow roller, or a different windlass feed angle...?

Sail safe!

[DannyLaChance]

Originally Posted by ItDepends

I have no idea why you would want the chain coming into the cockpit, but one of the great windlass layouts I have seen was on an aluminum Garcia. The chain locker was at the base of the mast, and the windlass just forward, under the deck. A long pipe welded under the deck carried the chain forward to the bow.

Great for putting the weight in the right place. A lot I liked about that.

Thanks for the story!
The weight, exactly. My tub is a yawl, and the companionway is right above the deepest part of the bilge. (And it is a heavy bit of chain.) The pipe welded belowdecks is genius! I doubt it will shape well in my case, but... I'll have a look. Ta!

[DannyLaChance]

Sorry, my 'successfully' is inexact — there is no such thing as a failed experiment.

So, even if you tried to install a windlass elsewhere (cockpit, mid, ...not-at-the-bow), and used it, but were not convinced for some reasons, please tell your story anyway.

Thank you!!

[capt jgw]

Before I put a windlass on my boat, I used a sheet winch in the cockpit to weigh anchor. Not the best method though, dragging the line and chain the whole length of the deck made a huge mess and scratched up the gelcoat. So much that I spent the money for the windlass.