Powered Anchor windlas

[Guest]

I recently bought a sealine 328. Although nearly 10 years old it is in really good condition. However, I have a little problem on how to use the anchor windlas correctly. It is controlled both at the windlas by an up and down button and a similar configuration at the helm. It works OK but I,m not sure how to use it. My previous boats have all been some what smaller with the anchor being thrown over board by hand, let to fall to the sea bed (which you can easilly feel by the slackness of the rope) and then additional rope let out to ensure a good hold. However, with a powered anchor windlas how do you know when it has reached the sea bed ( Oh, by the way it is all chain and no rope.) Addionally how do you know how much chain you have let out. I used to mark the rope at intervals when anchoring by hand, is there a way to know how much chain has been let out and how much more to let out. Yours confused - Paul.

 

[Guest]

Paul, Use flourecent paint on the chain at, say 10 mt spacings and count it out, thats if you can see the chain as it passes over the bow roller. Regards, Eddie

 

[Guest]

Paul

I agree with Eddie. Paint the chain as brightly as you can and use different colours for different depths. I did try one method that I read in one of the mags and that was to tie coloured chord at 10 meter intervals, but you just can't see it clearly from the helm.

One thing I have done to save chipping the bough, is to have a very brightly painted section at a suitable length to indicate that the anchor is just about to break the water's surfuce when winching in. It means you know when to slow the winch down and the recover that last bit carefully.

Cheers

Bob

 

[Guest]

We have the same problem in not being able to see the chain as it runs out on our S34,(In fact we cant even see the anchor either given the nose design) Surely, seeing as we know the size of the chain, that some sort of counter could be rigged up to measure the chain as it ran out, convert this to a digital signal, then send it up to the helm station?

Hello NASA , new intrument suggestion!

 

[Guest]

Re: is this an af joke too?

Dear BB. I can't seem to find how to steer the boat. On my old boat i simply moved the trusty outboard from side to side, depending upon the direction in which I wanted the boat to move. With this new fairline targa, there's nowhere to put the engine. I'll have to rig up a piece of wood at the back. I suppose what would be really handy is a device whereby the power from the boat was delivered to a propellor and then deflected by a metal plate mounted underneath and behind the propellor and etc. etc....

 

[Guest]

This is a real problem especially on Sealines, I have a 24. I bought from one of the boating catalogues some elastic tabs especially prepared as for anchor chain and they don't work. They get caught up in the windlass and generally add to the problem. I went to florencent marking but found having different colours a pain so just had one link colour for every 5m of chain. Matt, I share your humour but this is one of those irritating trivial problems which bugs me. There must be some cheap pulsing thingy which will at least count revolutions of the windlass. Just a small light on the panel which flashes each rev would do the trick. (This is a record of my patent by the way!) David

 

[Guest]

go low tech....

on the 'big ships (200m liners / tankers etc)' they use a very, very, very sophisticated solution to this problem.

Chain is marked every 10 'units' (metres / fathoms whatever you want really) in the following Red(R) and White(W)pattern:

10m from the anchor - i.e. from 0 to 10m=RWR - one link painted Red, next painted White, next Painted Red

from 10 to 20m RWRR

from 20 to 30m RRWRRR

from 30 to 40m RRRWRRRR etc

eventually you end up with:

anchor-------RWR------RWRR-------RRWRRR------windlass

This way you know to the nearest 5-10m (or whatever unit you are using) how much chain you have let out.

The RED-WHITE-RED is usually bright enough to see a contrast and if someone is up foward you can count remaining chain and slow it down.

I also have a yellow 'lead' so I know when I am about to break the water.

Hope this helps.....

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions. While I wait around for someone to invent the digital counter for the chain (or maybe invent it myself !!) I will take up some of the ideas of painting the chain in different colours. Thanks to all who contributed. Paul

 

[Guest]

Paul, If its a Simpson Lawrence Windlass they do a digital chain counter. Check them out at your local chandlers or e-mail them at info@simpson-lawrence.co.uk Regaards, Eddie

 

[Guest]

Have you tried timing it? My windlass runs out at 4 metres every ten seconds. So if I want to lay 20 metres of chain I run it out for 50 seconds.

Doug