Lewmar V700 Fall Safe Pawl Position

[swifty]

I am in the process of fitting a Lewmar V700 windlass, and on reading the instructions I am confused about the position of the Fall Safe Lever ( The red lever at the back of the windlass). What position should it be in for operation under power.

Can any Forum members with a V700 please advise.

Thank you.

 

[cobolt]

The fall-safe lever is only designed to prevent the gypsy winding out when the anchor is stored on the bow roller (for instance if the cone clutch loosened itself over time). It's not a chain-stop for use when at anchor, nor should it be the primary anchor locking mechanism when stored, as the chain can potentially jump out of the gypsy in extreme (very extreme) circumstances.

During anchor deployment operation it should be out of the way (i.e. the red lever should be up, locking the pawl in a disengaged position). When retrieving anchor, the pawl can be engaged (i.e. the red lever is horizontal) as it will simply act like a ratchet on the gypsy. However, do not forget to disengage the pawl again before dropping anchor next time.