Windlass Anchoring

[Rain City]

As others have said, thanks for sharing (there is a reason anchoring is called the cruisers TV - and yes, we ALL eventually produce content!) and good on you for gettin out and learning.
A couple minor comments-
- the chain piling up in the locker is one of those dirty little secrets that an amazingly large portion of boats have - even on $$$ production cruisers - the ability to have a deep enough locker to avoid it is quite rare - there are all kinds of "solutions" that depend on the exact setup - our locker is open at the top and I have to reach in and knock down the pile every 10' or so - other solutions include a stick (if your hawse pipe is big enough) and unfortunately (as you found out) if the access is from the interior, it turns into a 2 person job with one inside knocking it down - no easy solution.
- The dead battery probably tells you exactly which one the windlass is wired to - that is going to be the biggest draw on the whole boat (which is why some people, me include chose to wire it to a start battery as opposed to a house) - but it also illustrates one other point - never trade one form of safety for another until you are ready - i.e don't turn off the main motor until you are safely anchored, and even more importantly, don't bring up the anchor (relative safety) until you have a motor running.
Finally, on the marking of the chain - I'm of the opinion that simpler is better - i.e some people have fancy colour codes for each 5' - and you end up needing a laminated sheet to remember the code - I go on the "horeshoes and hand grenades" philosophy - i.e if you calculate you need 79' of scope, throw out 100 - so I just lay the chain out on the dock and spray paint every 25' red - simple, easy to ready, and only needs re-painting every few years.

This is exactly what I was thinking about doing. I'm staring at it anyways so it's not hard to count the red marks. If I miss one them I'll have an extra 25', NBD. I think the bow hatch might be my solo solution to knocking the chain down.

Hey Rain City—-not sure how big your boat is or why you use so much chain but I’m sure you have your reasons. But here’s a quick and dirty way to deal with slack rode line and a gypsy that doesn’t want to grab it, or rode line that isn’t stacking properly in your anchor locker....

I have two tie-down points for my anchor when it’s in the nest—-the pin that goes through the anchor and a short cord with a carabiner attached that’s attached to a bow cleat with the carabiner clipped to the anchor shackle

I mention that because that cord serves two purposes—-yes, it’s back-up to the pin to hold the anchor in place but more importantly, when I’m in a sketchy situation and need to get rode back into the boat FAST or need to shorten the scope and don’t want to use power on the Lemar, I take that cord, pull open the spring-loaded fairlead arm that applies pressure against the gypsy, put the cord around its base, then step on the carabiner. That move keeps the spring-loaded fairlead arm up and allows me to hand-haul the rode line up and and over the roller and feed it down into the anchor locker all in the same movement.

I got pretty good at that maneuver this summer , so good that every time I needed to haul the anchor, I started hand-hauling as much rode into the boat as I could, then once I got to the chain, dropped the link into the gypsy teeth and used power for the remaining chain scope and anchor. The main reason: I found that occasionally when hauling under power, the knot between the brait and the chain would get to the gypsy and fail to clear it (probably because it’s not tapered enough) The gypsy teeth spun on the knot and beat the crap out of the splice so to prevent that, I started using the hand-haul method mentioned above, then once past the rode/chain splice, I dropped the chain into the gypsy teeth and used power after that

Also, I keep a plastic tub on the deck. If I have to hand-haul rode in a hurry to take out slack, I just throw the coils in the basket and re-fasten the snubber and deal with getting the rode back into the anchor locker later

Glad you survived that ordeal—-we’ve all had those moments. You were lucky you had another set of hands with you!

I think I understand most of what you're saying. Speaks to my experience level I guess. I'm assuming the previous owner went with tons of chain to deal with the rope binding issue. I certainly couldn't pull it all up by hand.

30 Commander (15000 lbs)

 

[mayday]

BTW, that situation sounded a bit more like your original question - i.e deep water "hali" anchoring vs the overnight "regular" anchoring - I 0% experience with the former - I thought that is why those nutbars (I've seen some on the westcoast off Tofino in a heavy swell, fog, deep water - not for me!) - I thought that is why they tend to use the "lots of rope" along with a big scotsman and a ring method to bring up the line? Quicker and easier to coil the line when you are in the cockpit.

 

[Rain City]

BTW, that situation sounded a bit more like your original question - i.e deep water "hali" anchoring vs the overnight "regular" anchoring - I 0% experience with the former - I thought that is why those nutbars (I've seen some on the westcoast off Tofino in a heavy swell, fog, deep water - not for me!) - I thought that is why they tend to use the "lots of rope" along with a big scotsman and a ring method to bring up the line? Quicker and easier to coil the line when you are in the cockpit.

You're totally right. And I was warned to not try it with my windlass. I was in what I thought was protected water up howe sound and the wind was calm. Really just wanted to try paying out a bunch of line to get to the rope to know how it all worked. Luckily there was very little swell, lesson learned.

 

[Sir Reel]

RC. You need to practice this in shallower waters first and not in a live situation!

A couple of things.

• Most Commanders have 150 to 200" of chain plus another 100 to 15o' of rope. They came that way from factory.
• They are heavy boats with a lot of windage. ( Command bridge!)
• The rope will go through the windlass but yes it does need tension. Your rope is probably old, salt encrusted, and not as pliable as it used to be so the gypsy cannot grab it as well
• A new rope would work better
• Another thought is your gypsy teeth could be warn and so not grabbing the rope as well.
  
• Your Windlass should be wired to your house battery not your start.
• For that matter nothing should be wired to your start batteries as you have a full house bank for that.
• There is a huge amperage load with the windlass. Just look at the cables going to it.
• Always run your engine ( the engine with the high out put alternator for house side) when running your windlass.
• You want maximum voltage and amperage to the windlass motor
• Otherwise with low voltage and amperage you could damage windlass and possibly damage your batteries too.
• Take your entire chain and rode out on the wharf to see what you have. Get some spray paint and put on markings you can understand. Every 25' is good I think.
• I also have a laminated sheet with the markings table at the dash in case I forget
• While on the wharf you can check the entire length for any problems too. Especially the rope to chain splice

I can take out my entire chain and it coils back in no problem. You could have someone run the windlass while you watch in the cuddy hatch. Maybe it is just hanging up somewhere. There are also different types of chain. Windlass chain will coil in a nice neat pile. Regular chain will not.

If you want to anchor that deep you should really get a proper setup with Scotsman. It can be dangerous otherwise.

Interesting that your anchor held at that depth. Another plus for the Rocna!

 

[Rain City]

RC. You need to practice this in shallower waters first and not in a live situation!

A couple of things.

• Most Commanders have 150 to 200" of chain plus another 100 to 15o' of rope. They came that way from factory.
• They are heavy boats with a lot of windage. ( Command bridge!)
• The rope will go through the windlass but yes it does need tension. Your rope is probably old, salt encrusted, and not as pliable as it used to be so the gypsy cannot grab it as well
• A new rope would work better
• Another thought is your gypsy teeth could be warn and so not grabbing the rope as well.
  
• Your Windlass should be wired to your house battery not your start.
• For that matter nothing should be wired to your start batteries as you have a full house bank for that.
• There is a huge amperage load with the windlass. Just look at the cables going to it.
• Always run your engine ( the engine with the high out put alternator for house side) when running your windlass.
• You want maximum voltage and amperage to the windlass motor
• Otherwise with low voltage and amperage you could damage windlass and possibly damage your batteries too.
• Take your entire chain and rode out on the wharf to see what you have. Get some spray paint and put on markings you can understand. Every 25' is good I think.
• I also have a laminated sheet with the markings table at the dash in case I forget
• While on the wharf you can check the entire length for any problems too. Especially the rope to chain splice

I can take out my entire chain and it coils back in no problem. You could have someone run the windlass while you watch in the cuddy hatch. Maybe it is just hanging up somewhere. There are also different types of chain. Windlass chain will coil in a nice neat pile. Regular chain will not.

If you want to anchor that deep you should really get a proper setup with Scotsman. It can be dangerous otherwise.

Interesting that your anchor held at that depth. Another plus for the Rocna!

Ok awesome thanks for the advice. I was told the windlass was recently purchased so don't think it's worn. The previous owner did do all sorts of electrical "upgrades" so still trying to figure things out. I honestly still don't know the boat all that well. Nothing new to me though as I've been bumbling my way through boating from the beginning. Even my cruising experience has been exclusively with another rookie. Didn't spend any time at all on the ocean growing up. Always something new to learn it seems especially with each new boat.

 

[Sir Reel]

I think that is part of the fun of boating is learning all the new stuff. I have spent quite a while getting comfortable with my boat and all the systems and wiring. Its amazing how complex it really is. Hope to meet up with you some day and buy that seat cover if you still have it. I can show you what I know about the Commanders wiring too.
Sucks the rendezvous was cancelled. However some of us are still going there just wont be any activities. It is a great place to learn about the boats from other owners.

 

[Rain City]

I think that is part of the fun of boating is learning all the new stuff. I have spent quite a while getting comfortable with my boat and all the systems and wiring. Its amazing how complex it really is. Hope to meet up with you some day and buy that seat cover if you still have it. I can show you what I know about the Commanders wiring too.
Sucks the rendezvous was cancelled. However some of us are still going there just wont be any activities. It is a great place to learn about the boats from other owners.

Yes I still have the cover! Almost threw it out the other day. I'm sure we'll hook up soon enough. The rendezvous are tough to commit to so early with the kid. The wife is still trying to regain her sea legs after the pregnancy.