Windlass Question

[pennel]

Toying with the idea of getting a windlass on a boat.
Getting a bit long in the tooth and don't relish the idea of pulling up 30' of chain + anchor anymore.
Anybody got one and if so what kind of problems can you expect?
Thanks

 

[ab1752]

Not sure where you're located but I had mine installed by Inlet Marine. Its a Lewmar profish 700 and works great. You have to keep up on servicing but its not too difficult, and you could install it yourself. There are some other threads on here about these, plus what you'll need for rode / rope as I had to upgrade that too.

 

[Fixit]

I put a lewmar v700 on my 20’ wellcraft last year

wish I had done it years ago

the free fall distance is very important! Chain feeds the nicest. I’ve got 50” of 1/4” then 250ft of rope. So nice to pull up amd anchor without leaving the helm. Do it!

 

[Charlie415]

Biggest consideration is the length of fall in your chain locker. There is a minimum distance. It will determine if you have to move chain or rode around to get it all in the locker without jamming up.

 

[pennel]

Thanks to all of you for the replies.
When you are talking about the length of fall in the chain locker what should I be looking at ?
I was thinking on the lines of having the same as Fixit . The boat I am getting is a 26' aluminum NWAC .
Thanks

 

[Rain City]

Thanks to all of you for the replies.
When you are talking about the length of fall in the chain locker what should I be looking at ?
I was thinking on the lines of having the same as Fixit . The boat I am getting is a 26' aluminum NWAC .
Thanks

There's lots of info on cruising forums about this. I have 250' of 1/4" chain and it works great other than the piling up in the locker. Need to get in there and knock it down one in a while. Rope binds up much more.

 

[Gong Show]

Thanks to all of you for the replies.
When you are talking about the length of fall in the chain locker what should I be looking at ?
I was thinking on the lines of having the same as Fixit . The boat I am getting is a 26' aluminum NWAC .
Thanks

You should be fine, that is a real boat that takes anchoring into account.
Some smaller boats have enough space in the anchor locker for 50' of rope, a day hook, instead of 50' of chain with 300' of rode.

NWAC should be able to tell you what previous customers have used for windlasses and any feedback.

 

[Fixit]

All chain is really nice, the transition from chain to rope can be finicky some times requiring some in and out to get it to feed right my current rope is 3/8” gold braid Sampson but I have some plaight (8strand) to try. Supposedly much better laying rope
As I already had a hole in the deck my positioning was limited. If it was 8” further back I would have less problems with the rope piling up, plus I could install a chain grab too
Here’s a few Picts of the install

 

[pennel]

Thanks for the photos.
A couple of questions.
Have you hooked up the windlass to your house battery or has it got its own dedicated power source and did you just use a shackle to connect the rope
to the chain or splice it onto the chain?

 

[MadJigga]

Thanks for the photos.
A couple of questions.
Have you hooked up the windlass to your house battery or has it got its own dedicated power source and did you just use a shackle to connect the rope
to the chain or splice it onto the chain?

Spliced onto the chain for sure. Run it off the house battery

 

[Fixit]

I have a house and a start battery. Windlass is off the house battery (long wire run from the stern to the bow). I did think about putting a third windlass battery up front but that would require some fiberglassing to make room. in a 26’ boat, if you were frequently anchoring deep or had an all chain rode or heavy anchor I’d consider a windlass battery with a blue seas automatic charging relay to charge it back up. But this isn’t a requirement

as for the chain to rope connection. It has to be a tight smooth/tapered splice. A shackle will not feed through the Gypsy.

 

[pennel]

I have a house and a start battery. Windlass is off the house battery (long wire run from the stern to the bow). I did think about putting a third windlass battery up front but that would require some fiberglassing to make room. in a 26’ boat, if you were frequently anchoring deep or had an all chain rode or heavy anchor I’d consider a windlass battery with a blue seas automatic charging relay to charge it back up. But this isn’t a requirement

as for the chain to rope connection. It has to be a tight smooth/tapered splice. A shackle will not feed through the Gypsy. View attachment 58454

Thanks that's really helpful.The anchoring will be done in shallow, sheltered waters

 

[Fixit]

Any progress? Harbour chandler had a few windlasses on sale this weekend

 

[pennel]

Any progress? Harbour chandler had a few windlasses on sale this weekend

Looked into it but had already arranged it with the boatbuilder.
He recommended a Lewmar pro 1000 .
May have been cheaper at HC but it was kind of late in the day to cancel the boatbuider’s one and certainly don’t want to **** him off.

 

[Foxsea]

My windlass is a Maxwell and it works great. You will have heavy wiring running from the house battery to the winch - the downside of not having a dedicated battery close to the winch. The charging wire to a dedicated battery is much lighter, if you go that way. You also need a high amperage circuit breaker and a relay. Light wiring can run from the relay to the helm switch. Once installed, the windlass as is trouble-free.