electric or manual windless?

[noelex]

The big advantage of an electric anchor winch is that if something is not quite right with the chosen spot, it is very easy to move.

The other bonus is that there is no difference handling a big or small anchor so there is little incentive to skimp on ground tackle.

The downside is the potential lack of reliability of anything electrical on a boat. Good installation (protecting the motor and gearbox from salt water and good wiring) go a long way to reducing the risk of problems. Learn how to bypass the solenoids and have a couple of independent switches (say a wired and wireless remote) and you are very unlikely to have any problems, especially with good brands like Lighthouse, Muir and Maxwell.

It still pays to have a back up plan. Most (not all) electrical winches are very poor in manual mode. Fortunately, yachts have powerful manual winches installed as standard. While they are designed for sail loads, with a couple of snatch blocks and chain hooks that usually works well in a back up situation. The best option is usually to use two winches alternating port and starboard. It is worth sorting out the best system and hardware needed beforehand.

 

[lindsay]

Thanks for all your replies. Definitely food for thought.now pretty clear on advantages and disadvantages.

 

[OldBawley]

This is a small one. Weight of the anchor itself is already to much for most electric winches, the increasing weight of the attached chain is the real heavy stuff.
This fouling was the work of a diver in Nafplion harbour ( not the marina )
I had seen that a diver was under the boat. Bubbles coming up. Water is 8 to 9 meters deep there and murky water.
Some days before, an neighbour yacht had a fouled anchor too, they had to take the help of the diver.
Diver must have been pissed that I cleared the knot out of our chain myself.
In Turkey, Kapi bay I lifted an oil drum filled with iron and concrete of the bottom, moved it to shallower water to untangle my anchor from the mooring drum chains. Took me two days to get clear. No diver there, ( It was winter ) even removing the anchor from the chain would not have helped to free the anchor. Had to lift the drum, move the whole thing, mooring chains and all so the tension of the mooring chains came off. Then dive and free the anchor.