[C320-list] Anchor Windlass Capability

[Gene Helfman]

Thanks for bringing this up.  We're in final negotiations on a 1997 320
with "upgraded" ground tackle: 40 lb plow and 50 ft of larger chain than
standard.  So we will need to replace the Maxwell 500 with a larger, more
powerful windlass that has both rope and chain capability (granted, as
Dennis noted, we could power up to the chain and get away with a chain
donkey only).  Has anyone upgraded to something along these lines?

thanks,

gene

On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 8:50 AM, Dennis Harris <dharris02 at suddenlink.net>wrote:

> As I understand it, the anchor windlass is not to be used to pull the boat
> towards the anchor location when taking in the anchor.  If the wind or
> current is high, doing so would put lots of force on the windlass and
> probably trip it out.  But if there isn’t much wind, it would seem that
> there wouldn’t be much force.  The windlass supplied on our boats has a
> smooth drum and no gypsy for chain, and as I understand it, the chain
> should not be used on the smooth drum.  My guess is that many, like me,
> have nylon rode with a relatively small amount of chain at the anchor.
> Taking in the nylon rode when there is no strain on it (because boat is
> being powered forward) is easy to do by hand and power assist is not
> needed.  Picking up the bitter end with the chain and anchor (assuming we
> have already broken out the anchor using boat movement instead of anchor
> windlass pull) can/will be relatively difficult and power assist would be
> helpful, but the windlass (as delivered on boat) is not setup to handle
> chain.  So, it seems that we have this nice piece of equipment that really
> isn’t available when there is some heavy lifting to do.
> What am I missing?
> How do most owners use the windlass?
> And, most importantly, what is the line pull, in pounds, that can be
> successfully applied to the anchor rode, or other line, using the windlass
> without damaging windlass or tripping it out electrically?
> I don’t anchor out often, as you can tell, and when I do, it is in shallow
> water, so I have done it by hand without the windlass in the past.  But as
> 73 approaches, the idea of picking up a 33 lb. Bruce anchor and 20 ft. of
> chain seems less and less attractive.
> Thanks for you guidance.
> Dennis Harris  C320  #694
>



-- 
Gene Helfman, Professor Emeritus
Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
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