correct power of anchorwinch

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Bodsail

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I have 38ft motorboat with 8tons of weight. Anchor is 21kg. Chain is 8mm and 60 m long,
Is 800W Quick anchor winch strong enough for deep water mooring such as 15-20m deep?

Does anyone one has experience or an idea?

thanks to all of you.
 
Thanks for quick answer-here below what it writes for this Quick model. I am not able to understand the meaning! *by the way chain and anchor together is about 120kg

Motor output​
​
​
800 W​
​
Voltage​
​
​
12 V​
​
Max. pull​
​
​
900 kg​
​
working load
(max.)​
​
​
120 kg
(350 kg)​
​
 
Standard winch for my boat is a Quick 1000W and Jeanneau aren't renowned for over-specifying equipment. However, the stuff they do fit is generally fit for purpose.

I have a 20kg anchor with 10mm chain and haven't had any problems with the windlass since new in 2009. I anchor a lot as I live on the boat for about 6 months afloat each year. I opened up the windlass motor in 2018 to measure and examine the brushes. Everything looked fine with very little wear. I dismantled the gypsy to clean everything up in 2019 and only spotted two problems.

1) The coating on the magnet for the counter was showing some rust. It was cleaned out and covered in fresh epoxy. It's fairly common for them to disappear completely.

2) Slight distortion of the lower metal drive cone. I tapped it flat again as a temporary measure but it is probably still perfectly OK. I always use a snubber to avoid these issues.

I imagine that your 800W model will be just about OK for a 38' boat with 8mm chain but the 1000W model would be better. It wouldn't be working as hard as the 1000W model. I usually anchor in 4-6m, sometimes 10-12m and not often in 15m. The 800W model would probably be OK for someone who doesn't anchor every day.

I notice that you state the chain and anchor weigh about 120kg together. Remember that you are never lifting all of your chain. Assuming you are in 20m you'd probably only lift 50kg (21kg anchor + 20 x 1.45kg chain). You'd only get a weight of 120kg if you put out 70m chain in 70+m depth. Seawater displacement would make it less but can be ignored.

You should motor to the anchor and will therefore only be lifting the chain hanging almost straight down. It will take a lot of effort to break out the anchor but you shouldn't use the winch to pull it free. I usually let wave action or motion of the boat do the work.
 
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If the total combined weight of your anchor and chain is 120kg, and the windlass is good for heaving 120kg, unless you drop your anchor in 80+m, it should be able to retrieve it. Personally, I would go for at least 1000w, to be on the safe side.
 
NormanS said:
If the total combined weight of your anchor and chain is 120kg, and the windlass is good for heaving 120kg, unless you drop your anchor in 80+m, it should be able to retrieve it. Personally, I would go for at least 1000w, to be on the safe side.
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That assumes that there is no load on the chain from the boat drifting around whilst lifting the anchor. I normally use the engine to move the boat forward during anchor retrieval but if the wind manages to swing the bows the windlass is picking up the load. My windlass is 1000W and to my mind that will be the minimum for the OP or even possibly 1500W if there is one for 8mm chain.
 
When I bought the current boat, it had an 800 watt windlass fitted, which died not long after buying the boat due to the motor burning out. Couldn’t get it repaired or replaced in Coruna so bought a new Lofrans Cayman 1000 watt windlass. That has been heavily used over the intervening 11 years without any problems. That’s on a 40 foot boat weighing about 8 tonnes with 85m of 8mm chain and a 20kg Rocna. If it were me, I’d be looking at a 1000 watt windlass so as to make sure that there’s some margin to cope with the unexpected.
 
It doesn't much matter what size motor is in your windlass if the gearing is crap!
OP's table says max pull is 900kg and max working load is 350kg.
Someone will have to say what conditions will put 900kg of force on a mobo.

PS the Lofrans Cayman 88 horizontal windlass:
  • Maximum pull: 900Kg (1980lb) 1000 Watt.
  • Haulage speed: 20m/min (1000Watt) 50Kg.
  • Current Draw: 70-100 Amp (1000W / 12V)
  • Weight: 21kg (46lb) 1000 Watt.
 
Bodsail said:
I have 38ft motorboat with 8tons of weight. Anchor is 21kg. Chain is 8mm and 60 m long,
Is 800W Quick anchor winch strong enough for deep water mooring such as 15-20m deep?

Does anyone one has experience or an idea?

thanks to all of you.
Click to expand...

IMO you need a 1000w windlass. For less money than the 800w Quick you could buy a 1000w Lewmar Lewmar Pro-Series 1000 Windlass 12V 8mm with Footswitches

Other suppliers and prices are available.
 
It is not ideal to compare the wattage rating of windlass motors between different manufacturers. It is also important to understand the numbers can be somewhat misleading. For example, here is the current draw of my windlass motor. You can see at maximum pull according to the manufacturer the motor will draw almost 9500w. The motor is listed as a 2000w unit.

Bkqehxp.jpg

As others have pointed out the gearing and other factors are also important. For example the Maxwell 3500 unit has the same wattage motor (1200w) as both the 2500 and the 1500 unit from the same manufacturer despite the smaller unit having less than half the rated pull of the larger unit.

I am also not sure all manufacturers use the same criteria when deciding the maximum pull rating. However, as a rough rule of thumb, some manufacturers suggest that if you add together the total weight of your ground tackle (anchor and chain) this should be less than three times the maximum pull rating of the winch.

So if we apply is rule to your model windlass your total ground tackle weight should be less than 900/3= 300kg. Your chain weighs around 87kg and anchor is 21kg for a total of 108kg. Using a rule of thumb from a different manufacturer is not ideal, but as you comfortably meet this requirement it suggests your proposed windlass should be more than adequate, but I would check with the manufacturer.
 
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The power, as has been said before, is nothing like as important as the force it can exert which depends on the gearing. You don't need to pull up that fast (power = force x speed).

As an example, consider a human: about 400 Watts probably (I can do about 750 W for a few tens of seconds on a rowing machine, and about 200 W when on a bicycle for an hour, so 400 W isn't far off for an upper estimate of what a human can put into a winch). Plenty of people have had manual windlasses for years, so 800 W seems enough for your electric windlass provided the gearing is appropriate.

In case this all seems too abstract, my boat (13 tonnes, 12.8m (42')) has a 1kW windlass. But it has had a very hard life and hasn't proved that reliable (it's on it's 4th, or maybe 5th, electric motor) so I have had to use the manual over-ride quite often,. I can do it, the anchor comes up even if I am a bit puffed afterwards. And for a time I used an electric rechargeable drill/screwdriver, which is only about 300 W, instead of the electric motor but it worked fine. So I think 800 W is probably adequate for your needs..
 
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PaulRainbow said:
IMO you need a 1000w windlass. For less money than the 800w Quick you could buy a 1000w Lewmar Lewmar Pro-Series 1000 Windlass 12V 8mm with Footswitches

Other suppliers and prices are available.
Click to expand...
Your link is to a 700w windlass :unsure:
Lewmar Part No: 6657011198-311 (F4B)

Specifications:

  • Motor: 12V, 700W
  • Typical Max Pull: 454kg
  • Max Line Speed: 32m/min
  • Normal Line Speed: 27m/min
  • Working Load: 114kg
  • Normal Current Draw: 50A
  • Circuit Breaker (Slow Blow): 70A
  • On Deck Size: L245 x W178 x H146mm
  • Suitable for boats up to 11.5m / 38ft
 
LadyInBed said:
Your link is to a 700w windlass :unsure:
Lewmar Part No: 6657011198-311 (F4B)

Specifications:

  • Motor: 12V, 700W
  • Typical Max Pull: 454kg
  • Max Line Speed: 32m/min
  • Normal Line Speed: 27m/min
  • Working Load: 114kg
  • Normal Current Draw: 50A
  • Circuit Breaker (Slow Blow): 70A
  • On Deck Size: L245 x W178 x H146mm
  • Suitable for boats up to 11.5m / 38ft
Click to expand...

My mistake, i was looking a the model number.
 
If your desired windlass will accept both a 800w or a 1000w motor - I'd have no hesitation in suggesting you go for the bigger option. Over the life of the windlass the cost differences are simply not relevant. However all the electric need to be compatible. If you are at the top end of the chain size for that windlass - I'd go for a larger windlass and still look at a larger motor.

All windlass manufacturers emphasise that you should not use the windlass to haul the vessel to the anchor - in the real world this can happen. In the real world your chain might be retrieved impingeing on the sides of the bow roller - increasing wear on the bow roller cheeks and the galvanising of the chain due to friction but also increasing apparent load on the windlass.

We have a 38' catamaran, 7t weight (fully loaded for a 3 month trip) we have the windage of a 45' yacht - we use 75m x 6mm high tensile chain (+ 8kg aluminium anchors) and have a Maxwell windlass with a 1000w motor. I'd question the reasoning behind your use of 8mm chain.

Jonathan
 
Mistroma said:
You'd only get a weight of 120kg if you put out 70m chain in 70+m depth. Seawater displacement would make it less but can be ignored. But I suggest the windlass needs to be sized for exactly that possibility of pulling the entire chain and anchor vertically up in deep water. It’s unlikely to happen, but if you accidentally let it all go, it’s a bit embarrassing not to be able to retrieve it!

You should motor to the anchor and will therefore only be lifting the chain hanging almost straight down. It will take a lot of effort to break out the anchor but you shouldn't use the winch to pull it free. I usually let wave action or motion of the boat do the work. Exactly right IMHO. Never pull the boat up to the anchor. It’s bad practice and your windlass won’t thank you.
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