Manual Windlass

[snowleopard]

I'm a great devotee now I have an electric windlass. I even have a radio remote so I can set and retrieve it without leaving the helm (though I seldom do). If I had batteries aft I would install an extra one close to the windlass.

I have never used a reciprocating manual windlass but I've seen others use them. If you do, make sure it is double-acting.

On my first old gaffer I had a gypsy attached to the gooseneck and a handle big enough for both hands. It was really effective, far more so than any foredeck type. If I had to fit a manual windlass today I'd go for a vertical-axle type and mount it on a pedestal so I could get a better working position.

 

[mjcoon]

Are they that bad ? I dont have one at the moment and dont really want to try and get cabling from batteries at the rear to where windlass will be sited.

Just a couple of observations from a non-owner having read some of the comments...

Years ago we had a rather down-market charter with an electric windlass. But the gypsy was a bad match to the chain (maybe not calibrated?) so the combination was more of a PITA.

And usually we have been recommended to run the engine to support use of electric windlasses. Sometimes they trip otherwise. If relying on a separate battery in the bows, does that work?

Mike.

 

[prv]

And usually we have been recommended to run the engine to support use of electric windlasses. Sometimes they trip otherwise. If relying on a separate battery in the bows, does that work?

If you can't run the windlass without the engine, then the installation is inadequate. I've had cause to be very grateful that mine works independently, after sailing into a crowded creek at midnight with an unusable engine and needing to re-anchor a couple of times to find a safe berth.

Pete

 

[Tranona]

The most common way of powering a windlass is from the house bank which should have more than enough capacity, although it helps to have the engine running at the same time. This is how most new boats are wired. If doing a retrofit there is a choice, and if the house bank has limited capacity then a dedicated battery close to the windlass may be a better answer. However, although it avoids the cost of the heavy cable runs from the house battery, it does mean you have to find a secure location for the battery. Cost and amount of work is probably little different from cabling from the house bank.

 

[Babylon]

I jumped through this hoop a couple of years ago - and looked in detail at both electric and manual.

Having always had a fully manual setup (hand-over-hand and flaked on the side-deck stuff) on my heavy 27-footer with 25m of 8mm and a 12kg anchor (plus rode), this was never much of an issue on the South Coast. But single-handing with a now weakened lower-back and intending to spend time in North Brittany with its much bigger tidal ranges, I wanted 50m of chain plus rode and so a windlass of some sort was needed.

There's a chap in Scotland who used to work for Simpson Lawrence and refurbishes their old pretty solid manual types (I forget what they're called), but there was no real difference in cost compared to modern electric, so this is what I went for.

I decided on a Quick model of a low-profile vertical-axis type - as there's precious little room on my foredeck and I didn't want a significant trip-hazard.

I wired the heavy battery cables under the heads sink, port berth and galley all the way back to the domestic bank (that took some cunning and not a little sweat!), and the main control wiring back also under the headlining etc - as I wanted the main fixed-in switch just inside the companionway for convenience when singlehanding. But I also wanted a hand-held control on an extension cable, and fitted a gland/socket for this at the foot of the mast - so I can in fact operate the controls anywhere from the cockpit forward to the anchor-roller as needed.

A bit over-specced, but a solution which works happily for me.