[C320-list] Anchor Windlass Capability

Fri Jul 13 14:18:42 PDT 2012

If light winds are forecast, I don't mess with it. I just bring in the
chain by hand (I only have 25'). If the hook is stuck, I bend the
chain on the cleat and use the engine to break it out.

If heavier winds, I deploy with the anchor. I simply tie a bowline
through the shackle...and let it out with the chain.  When I get to
the rope rode, I either tie a rolling hitch to the rode or a bowline
in that shackle there as I have no splice.

When I bring in the rode, I stop when the chain comes aboard, untie
the halyard, put it on the drum and release the rode.

 It is a one person job and much easier on my soul than winding the
chain on the drum.

As noted, over-rides are a b.....ummer...

I installed  a washdown also...pics in mainsheet.

On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 12:13 PM, Gene Helfman <genehelfman at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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

-- 
Chris Burti
Farmville, NC