[C320-list] Anchor Windlass Capability

[Gene Helfman]

Chris: we like the idea of a backup, non-stretch line running the length of
the chain but see possible entanglement/fouling issues.  Do you thread the
line through an occasional chain link or tie the line to the chain at a
couple of points so it doesn't develop slack?

thanks,

gene (hopefully soon-to-be-owner of Satori, #398, as soon as a paid-off
loan gets verified through the Coast Guard so boat can be re-documented)

On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 8:37 AM, jim brown <jbrown5093 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Be very careful not to get an over ride if you are using the chain on the
> drum (difficult to do but not impossible as I found out on a charter boat).
> With rope it's bad enough but with chain it can be a real problem
> (especially with no reverse of free fall on the windless.
>
>
> Jim Brown
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>  From: Dennis Harris <dharris02 at suddenlink.net>
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 9:56 AM
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Anchor Windlass Capability
>
> Thanks everyone for your responses.  The Maxwell website lists the pulling
> capability of the VC-500 at 660 lbs.  I found a couple of websites wherein
> the authors presented extensive studies of wind force on anchored boats.
> ABYC also has formulas for calculating the wind force on anchored boats.
> ABYC calculations suggest for a sailboat the size of a C320, the winds, to
> reach the 660 lbs. pull on the anchor rode, would be about 27kts.  Both of
> the studies said that ABYC formulas were very conservative, on the order of
> a safety factor of 3 in normal conditions.  However, when waves were over 3
> ft., then additional dynamic forces come into play, and at that point, the
> ABYC formula predicted a something less than the real formulas.  Current
> was not a significant issue, and even a 6 kt. current was only equivalent
> to a 15 kt. wind.
>
> Since I most often single hand, or have on board persons who are not well
> versed in boat handling, it is difficult/risky to attempt to motor forward
> while I am at the bow taking in the anchor.  Based on all the information
> that has been provided, I plan to start using the anchor windlass to get
> the anchor and rode on board without trying to motor forward...just have
> the engine idling out of gear, so we ready to go when the anchor is up.  I
> shouldn't be tripping breakers under those conditions.  I'm not sure why
> the owners manuals say to move the boat forward with the engine (easy to do
> with two experienced persons however).   The chain and nylon of my rodes
> are spliced, so I think I will let the windlass lift the chain and anchor
> even though I don't have a chain gypsy. Again, thanks.
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Utility Email
> Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 2:10 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Anchor Windlass Capability
>
> My 2007 C320 MK II has a chain gypsy as part of the windlass.  We anchor
> out all the time and the windlass works great.  No tripping breakers.  Two
> winters ago I installed a seawater washdown pump under the head sink with a
> quick disconnect outlet in the anchor locker.  I connected the inlet to the
> head sink drain line so I can run seawater (or even freshwater from the
> sink) through the washdown pump to the anchor locker on the bow of the
> boat. Works great for cleaning the anchor and rode and also washing down
> the deck while at anchor.  We have 50 feet of chain and 250 feet of nylon
> rope for our anchor rode.
>
> Dave Swanson
> S/V Emily Ann
> 2007 C320 MK II, No. 1107
> Mukilteo, WA
>
> On Jul 12, 2012, at 8:50 AM, Dennis Harris 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
PERMANENT address:
    498 Shoreland Dr., Lopez Is., WA 98261
    (360) 468-2136
    genehelfman at gmail.com

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day,
Teach a man to fish and he'll deplete the
      oceans."

The Book of Bob, Ironies 24:7