petem
Well-Known Member
If my electric windlass ever fails, how would I recover the anchor manually? All that turning the handle clockwise seems to do is tighten the clutch.
Anchor windlass - newby type question!
- Thread starter petem
- Start date
markc
Well-Known Member
Keep going, it will be hard work!
An extract from my Manual (Lofrans)
Raise The Anchor In Case Of Emergency
Insert the emergency handle in the clutch nut or gipsy cap. Turn clockwise , overcoming a strength due to the spring (541). As there is no ratio, please
keep in mind in case of deep anchoring the stress will be hard.
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jrudge
Well-Known Member
Hand over hand !
I just had to replace most of mine. The gearboxes have a manual override but this according to the lewmar agent is an option. My new gearbox does not have said option
If you read the manual yours may or may not which enables the motor and gearbox to be disabled.
If not then I suspect if hand over hand does not work then you would need to remove the motor from the gearbox and wind it manually making sure that the lever on top is set to it won’t fly out if you let go
I just had to replace most of mine. The gearboxes have a manual override but this according to the lewmar agent is an option. My new gearbox does not have said option
If you read the manual yours may or may not which enables the motor and gearbox to be disabled.
If not then I suspect if hand over hand does not work then you would need to remove the motor from the gearbox and wind it manually making sure that the lever on top is set to it won’t fly out if you let go
BruceK
Well-Known Member
Hand over hand as said. And yes it can be very hard going. When I first added 100 yards of warp to my chain to anchor in a particularly deep hole for a spot of tope fishing the rope was still too new and stiff to grip the drum correctly. Pulling that in to get to 100 foot of 10mm chain and a 15 kilo anchor to mate with the gypsy for the windlass to take over took two blokes, partial help from the slipping windlass drum, and a heap of effort. Put me right off ever anchoring deep again. Do not underestimate how heavy all the ground tackle is in a straight lift.
Irish Rover
Well-Known Member
I got caught out some years ago with around 90 meters of chain out with a 22kg anchor. I took in as much as I could by hand and then I towed the rest to more shallow water, took in what I could and repeated the process a few times until I was in around 10 meters and able to retrieve the rest.
petem
Well-Known Member
Eek, that's not going to be fun if I ever need to do it. I guess you have the pull of the boat in the wind too to contend with. Can't see SWMBO pulling it up as I drive the boat. There's always a hacksaw I guess.
Portofino
Well-Known Member
petem;6427195There's always a hacksaw I guess.[/QUOTE said:
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Your "bitter end" will be rope Pete. Easiest is to cut this!
jfm
Well-Known Member
Yup , tie a length of rope then fender to it, and dump it. Send work boat to collect it if windlass isn't easily fixed.
The windlass failed 10+ years ago on Tcm's then new Arno Leopard 23m. There were a few guys on board. One dived down and clipped a rope onto the bight of the chain as deep as possible. We then led the rope through bow fairlead, along side deck, to stern winch, and wound in the rope until the chain attachment point was at the bow fairlead. Tied off the chain with another short bit of rope. Diver then took the long rope down again and reattached it to the bight of the chain. Repeat, 5 metres at a time or 10m+ if you have scuba gear. Anchor retrieved in 1/2 hour or so.
We didn't have scuba on that occasion. Even if you have full scuba I wd recommend a couple of these mini bottles-I have one (present from forumites after a cruise) and love it. Obviously it is meant as a full scuba back up but you can use it v easily to give you 10 breaths for a job like this. You need a full on scuba tank to fill it off course. https://www.sunderlandscubacentre.c...MImP-IjIP72gIVyOFRCh32ewTaEAQYBCABEgKPQ_D_BwE
The windlass failed 10+ years ago on Tcm's then new Arno Leopard 23m. There were a few guys on board. One dived down and clipped a rope onto the bight of the chain as deep as possible. We then led the rope through bow fairlead, along side deck, to stern winch, and wound in the rope until the chain attachment point was at the bow fairlead. Tied off the chain with another short bit of rope. Diver then took the long rope down again and reattached it to the bight of the chain. Repeat, 5 metres at a time or 10m+ if you have scuba gear. Anchor retrieved in 1/2 hour or so.
We didn't have scuba on that occasion. Even if you have full scuba I wd recommend a couple of these mini bottles-I have one (present from forumites after a cruise) and love it. Obviously it is meant as a full scuba back up but you can use it v easily to give you 10 breaths for a job like this. You need a full on scuba tank to fill it off course. https://www.sunderlandscubacentre.c...MImP-IjIP72gIVyOFRCh32ewTaEAQYBCABEgKPQ_D_BwE
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Positively +1 ref. securing the chain end with a rope rather than a shackle, as a general principle.
But it's much better to secure such cord to the locker ceiling rather than to its bottom, because aside from being easier to find somewhere to attach (the lower part of the windlass bolts, of the cleats, whatever), there's also a functional reason.
The typical emergency scenario is not when the anchor is dragging, because by definition that implies that you can recover it.
It's rather when it's stuck and you can't recover it, but you need to escape PDQ for some reason.
In such situation, normally you don't want to release all your chain first and go to cut the cord afterwards, because the boat might drift toward something hard in the process.
So, it's preferable to have the cord inside the locker hanging from the top and always reachable, in order to be able to cut it first, and then let the chain go while you are already maneuvering to escape the dangerous situation.
I guess this can seem a bit of hair splitting, but as anyone who has been at the bow in the middle of the night with the boat pitching and rolling know, in such conditions every minute counts...
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Pete
If you have a Lewmar windlass, I'm afraid that markc is wrong.
The gearbox on the Lewmar is permanently connected.
No winding (however strong you are) will wind against the motor (it uses a worm gear).
Believe me - I know.
That said, it is possible to do as jrudge says "hand over hand"
I suggest a variant of his suggestion though.
Get a spare chain hook - I used one like this:-
Then tie a short length of rope to it and fix the other end to a cleat on the boat.
You can then pull up sections of chain and rest every now and then by attaching the chain hook.
That procedure worked for me and JW is a heavier boat.
If you have a Lewmar windlass, I'm afraid that markc is wrong.
The gearbox on the Lewmar is permanently connected.
No winding (however strong you are) will wind against the motor (it uses a worm gear).
Believe me - I know.
That said, it is possible to do as jrudge says "hand over hand"
I suggest a variant of his suggestion though.
Get a spare chain hook - I used one like this:-
Then tie a short length of rope to it and fix the other end to a cleat on the boat.
You can then pull up sections of chain and rest every now and then by attaching the chain hook.
That procedure worked for me and JW is a heavier boat.
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Reminds me of a weird situation I experienced several years ago, when the chain found its way inside a crack between two big rocks, which were almost touching each other.
God only knows how it went inside such aperture, which appeared narrower than the chain itself - it probably happened while the boat was swinging around a bit, making the chain work as a sort of saw between the rocks. Anyway, as a result it was impossible to recover the anchor, and we had to go down with an allen key, detach the chain from the anchor, pull the chain out from the seabed under those rocks, then bring it back to the anchor, re-attach it, and eventually recover it.
10 mins wouldn't have been sufficient in that occasion, but yes, that's a very convenient bit of kit anyway!
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Good idea, thanks. I'll get one! :encouragement:
Portofino
Well-Known Member
But —- before ording one read this
http://divemagazine.co.uk/kit/7709-compressed-air-snorkelling-deathtraps
Don,t show the Russian gov this link as may well send Christmas presents to exiled spy’s
with page 6 of the manual missing .
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BruceK
Well-Known Member
Depending on windlass type you could dump the chain or from the loose end flip it out the gypsey if this is not possible. Mine attaches to the forward bulkhead 1/3 the way up and can get buried under chain, but moving location would but it on a structurally weaker area should windlass / gearbox ever structurally fail and no snubber was deployed. (I have a vertical windlass with a option to quickly release the clutch so either method works well enough, my bitter end is long enough to escape the chain hawse but not long enough to bind to the windlass so can be cut without having to reach into the locker)
djefabs
Well-Known Member
Peter
Have a look at the Alderney Ring Method. Google/YouTube is your friend. I have used this successfully many times whilst fishing and depending on circumstances it works well. I found that a large ball fender works best. suggest you practice in the lagoon.
Have a look at the Alderney Ring Method. Google/YouTube is your friend. I have used this successfully many times whilst fishing and depending on circumstances it works well. I found that a large ball fender works best. suggest you practice in the lagoon.
Portofino
Well-Known Member
Same as mine - snap !
In my previous boat a small Sunseeker Portofino 35 I used to get the guardian to do the annual maintenance.
This went on for a few years .
One year we arrived one Easter ( Fam of 4 ) keen to get boating ,off we went - about a few miles out as the chop increased the speed slumped in a head sea .
Went from 27 knot cruise to 20 and suddenly and then dropped off the plane .
Initially I thought I had snagged the sterngear ( outdrives ) .
Raised them - nowt .
So reved up and nope - would not plane .
Went on the bow opened the locker and the whole anchor some 50 M of 8 mm had deployed - eek !
It was not run through the gypsy ,the small tie cord was bar tight .
What a job hand pulling that .Winch worked but the thing was not through it so to speak .
What had happened,in the yard they must have removed it to paint it or something,then just tied the “ bitter “ end up and hauled up the chain fron the floor and just sat the anchor in its place ,which it was balanced back with the stock weight .
Nobody had the sense to re thread it through the gypsy .Or use the chain stopper to prevent deployment.
Until I hit a wave and tipped it off .
Quite a bit of gel coat chipped in the bow area below the WL by the chain .
Must have plummeted almost vertically and the drag brought the boat off the plane .
Guardian got the sack btw in the aftermath/ investigations.
D
Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Look on the bright side Pete. After you've retrieved your anchor by hand, you'll have burnt so many calories you wont have to go to the gym for a month and very likely, your chiropractor will get richer
Just cut the bitter end and dump it and then go to the chandlery to buy another anchor and chain
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Hi D
Does that technique work with chain.
We used to use that technique (didn't know it was called that) on a certain reservoir that you know.
Yes, it certainly works.
We were doing it with 4.3m RIBS and raising ground tackle up 80 feet.
The rode was mainly rope though - but there was about 10 feet of chain and an anchor at the other end.
From memory, we had a stainless steel hoop with a carabiner to stop it coming off the rope.
jrudge
Well-Known Member
Never heard of it and is quite clever ... but i suspect does not work with all chain as it wont run over it.