anchoring novice

[suse]

Further to the chain marking post below - and flaking the chain on deck.

1 Currently, not me gov, my chain is attached to the boat with a shackle, not looped thin line, so this has to be attended to. However, I too am reluctant to flake chain for the appropriate length on deck, because of the paint work, but also because of the weight/effort (more important). I have a windlass (not electric) and calibrated chain - I can heave the chain/anchor IN with the windlass, but can I let it OUT via the windlass, without the whole bang lot streaming out and yanking the bulkhead out with it?

2 Also, when I replace the shackle at the bulkhead with loops of line, I read in PBO I think recently, that the line should be long enough to appear up through the pipe on deck, so I can cut it on deck (if necessary), rather than having to dash below. I can just see it all getting very tangled in the chain locker.

3 Will the windlass be sufficient to hold calibrated chain when anchored, or is it essential to take a turn or two round a cleat?

I'm trying to persuade a reluctant partner that anchoring is FUN(!), but have only ever done it on a smaller boat, with correspondingly smaller weights (anchor/chain).

I'm sure I have more to ask - but that can wait till later.

Many thanks, as ever, for help and suggestions.

susy

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[DeeGee]

Hi Suse, what sort of windlass is yours? I have NO expertise outside the Simpson Lawrence vertical type, but you should be able to put a winch-handle into the socket on top and loosen the clutch with it, by alternately tightening and loosening, you can slip progressive lengths. I GUESS that other w/l's will have similar. My bitter end is secured with a loopy bit, but mine doesn't get out the hawse pipe, so we would lose about 20 secs if it had to be cut in a dire emergency. I can live with that, but I expect someone will point out the error of my ways. In theory, some form of chain stopper should be used, but it seems to me to be honoured rarely. You can get simple flip-over chain stoppers by searching the internet. The best way is to attach nylon rope to the chain and let both out some 15ft minimum, making off the rope to a cleat, with the windlass then unloaded altogether.

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[suse]

I dont know the maker, but it's a horizontal windlass, probably pretty ancient; the chain drapes itself over the top of the windlass, and I use the handle to 'pump' the chain back. I've been looking for a release, but the only thing I have is a sort of old-fashioned-looking large tap-shaped affair on the horizontal end of the windlass (BTW it can also take rope separately, on the other end of the windlass, sort of double-ended). As far as the 'tap' is concerned, I havent been able to move this, and dont know whether it does move independently - is this the release, to allow chain to be fed out?

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[jsl]

That sounds like the release - called a veering brake. It ought to back off a fraction of a turn, to allow the chain gypsy (the wheel the chain drapes over) to run freely. When you tighten the brake, the gypsy will stop, probably very suddenly. If it has not been used for years, the cone inside the gypsy which provides the braking effect may well be very firmly stuck. You might be able to free it by tapping the gypsy towards the end of its shaft, once you have backed off the brake. Or you could try dropping the anchor with a bight of chain, so that it gives the gypsy a good jerk. The whole outfit will be very strong, and will take the load of any ordinary anchoring event. In utterly dire circumstances, gypsies have been known to shatter.

The length of cuttable line at the bitter end is a very good idea. Mine has yet to give tangling-trouble. Choose a strongish piece: one of my worst heart-in-mouth moments was watching my chain roar out unbraked (can't now remember why) until the line appeared, shot over the gypsy - and stopped the chain with a twang. Phew!

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[bedouin]

1. All windlasses I've seen have a clutch, that can be controlled to allow the chain feed out without rattling out too fast. However I normally pay the chain out by hand. If not properly greased the clutch can seize.

2. I only have a couple of inches small stuff holding by chain to the bulkhead in the locker - however I can't see why there should be a tangling problem with a short length of line. Anyway - how often do you intend to use all the chain - if this is a regular occurrence I would suggest that you need more chain.

3. No - don't leave the windlass to take all the load - either make it off round a cleat, or fit a snubber.

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[Mirelle]

Your windlass sounds like a middle period Simpson Lawrence. If I describe mine, a Reids, which dates from the 30's, it might help, as it is the ancestor of yours just as Dee Gee's is its descendant. Mine has a handle that goes round and round to wind the chain in but the chain gypsy and warping drum, though on the same shaft, are separate. The gypsy, but not the drum (which contains the brake) can be freed on the shaft or braked to the drum.

My normal performance is to pull about five fathoms up and flake it in front of the windlass. This gives the anchor a flying start and will overcome any reluctance to spin on the part of the gypsy (it can be very reluctant, espescially after a spell of non-use like winter).

Having taken the brake off I then drop the anchor, braking the chain as various paint marks whizz past so as to stop with the right amount out.

I nearly always leave the load on the gypsy, unless severely frightened by the weather forecast in which case I use a bit of nylon rope.

I counsel careful inspection of the brake, which sounds as if it is stuck.

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[snowleopard]

don't put the chain round a cleat, if you have to undo it when the weather turns nasty you could end up short a few fingers.

much the best thing is to get a length of nylon rope with a chain hook, attach one end to your bow cleat and hook the other over the chain, then ease the chain until the load comes on the rope. this gives a second line of defence and a cushion against snubbing.

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[jimh]

Hi Suse,

need some help here, I can't find the original thread with the issue re: (presumably not) making fast the bitter end of your chain to the boat - mine too is shackled at present (and came from the boat manufacturers so) - might be a dumb question, but what's the problem?

Jim

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[tcm]

if you need to get rid of the anchor (cos it won't come up cos stuck or windlass busted) then need to free yerself from anchor. You should have a trip line and a marker buoy for this, to pick it up again sometime later. Not a common occurence but if it hapens you and boat are nailed to the spot, so need to undo the anchor from boat and run off to a harbour, or otherwisie hide elsewhere for a bit. Anyway, it's likely that a shackle at end of anchor chain will have gone rusty or otherwise be hard to undo under massive tension. So, the final connexion to the boat should be slashable (piece of strong nylon rope) or there is actually a special snap-out shackle for the bitter end ( ie where end of anchor cnects to boat). HOWEVER - on a saily boat you would need to have bolt cutters as saftey gear for cutting away rigging when mast comes down etc, and of course the anchor could get stuck midway, So, you would be able to cut the chain with the bolt cutterss and the argument for/againt how to attach bitter end become redundant. Except that your bolt cutters might fall in the water, or be knackered or whatever, hence good idea for final conexxion of chain to be detachable with a bread knife.

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[david_bagshaw]

Anchoring is fun, vastly better than the best marina berth etc !


Others have covered the operation of the windlass, & although in a ideal world the anchour load should be removed from the windlass, on our previous boat we never did.

take the view you will spend one very restless night for the first time & thousands of briliant ones after!!!

Your profile does not say what size craft we are dealing with , so we can tailor the advice.

Have fun

<hr width=100% size=1>David
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[chas]

It sounds like an SL (vertical). Does the windlass work? there is a system of double chain drive inside which can rust up - it did on mine. The advice (from this forum) was to take it off and leave it in a bucket of diesel for a couple of weeks. This worked a treat and everything was free. There were several threads in the past about these bits of kit.

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[DeeGee]

You have had the answers, but possibly a bit wrapped up.

First the tap IS the clutch release mechanism. You may need to give it a bit of a hammering to get it moving. Bash each prong one after the other, not all on one prong. Bash firmly, and increasingly heavily, until common sense, says that you may break off a prong. Use something, like a bit of leather, to go between your hammer and the prong to prevent superficial damage. Every three or four bashes, try a bash in the 'doing up' direction (which will be clockwise looking at the end). It was designed to undo, and it is simply jammed. If possible, get some WD40 in there, preferably the night or a few hours before you try to get it going. You may then need to dismantle to clean up all the verdigris and get the WD40 off it.

Bitter end. The reason for string is that, as pointed out, you won't be able to undo a shackle under load, possibly corroded and where the hell did I put the WD40? I understand your point, as you are presumably referring to a bitter end which goes from gypsy through hawse pipe into a closed locker, with access possibly from inside the boat? That is what I have, and my answer, should I feel that the 20 secs needed to duck down below is too long, would be to put the string on the bitter end, then a short stringy bit, then a sort of 'adaptor' length of chain - long enough to allow the bitter end and the shortish stringy bit to come up through the hawse-pipe. [Purists.. I have used hawse-pipe a little inaccurately, to refer to the pipe feeding the chain down into a below-decks locker, I would be interested to know the correct name for this].

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[jsl]

Re: anchoring novice: not quite a hawsepipe

I've heard it called a navel-pipe.

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[DeeGee]

Re: anchoring novice: not quite a hawsepipe

yes, of course. Ta

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[hebdena]

On Merchant ships it's called a spurling pipe. Does naval pipe have an RN origin?

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