windlass control in cockpit.

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zeehond

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We have a Simpson Lawrence windlass which has a manual release for dropping the anchor. There is then a foot operated switch at the bow for recovery of the anchor. What we'd like to know is whether there is a way of dropping the anchor electrically, ideally from the cockpit (and of course recovery). Can this be done using the existing windlass? All help appreciated.
 
zeehond said:
We have a Simpson Lawrence windlass which has a manual release for dropping the anchor. There is then a foot operated switch at the bow for recovery of the anchor. What we'd like to know is whether there is a way of dropping the anchor electrically, ideally from the cockpit (and of course recovery). Can this be done using the existing windlass? All help appreciated.
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I connected an winch wireless remote and found it worked well , easy to fit and cheap off eBay , it does run a little bit longer then my hand held contro tho
 
sailaboutvic said:
I connected an winch wireless remote and found it worked well , easy to fit and cheap off eBay , it does run a little bit longer then my hand held contro tho
Click to expand...
Same here, using a cheap garage door controller off ebay, then just running the windlass down rather than releasing - does your run down as well as up? Very handy to have a remote if it does.
 
Also possible to do with simple switches although you will need a 3 core cable running from the winch solenoid to the cockpit.

If you are asking about this get a pro to do it. Not a big job as you already have a cable to the cockpit which could be used as a leader to pull through the 3 core.
 
zeehond said:
We have a Simpson Lawrence windlass which has a manual release for dropping the anchor. There is then a foot operated switch at the bow for recovery of the anchor. What we'd like to know is whether there is a way of dropping the anchor electrically, ideally from the cockpit (and of course recovery). Can this be done using the existing windlass? All help appreciated.
Click to expand...

No. If it does not power down, how can you operate it remotely? You will be able to power it up, either by hard wiring a switch at the helm or using a wireless remote.
 
Sandy said:
How do you work out how much scope you have let out?
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You can time it, but you get a feel for when you have enough out to hit the bottom at least then go forward and check the scope with the markers on the chain. chain counters are also available.
 
Tranona said:
You can time it, but you get a feel for when you have enough out to hit the bottom at least then go forward and check the scope with the markers on the chain. chain counters are also available.
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True, but if you have to go forward and check then why not go forward in the first place?
 
Sandy said:
True, but if you have to go forward and check then why not go forward in the first place?
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Because sometimes it is easier to at least get the anchor down, for example if you are singlehanded, or backing up to village quay (if you happen to be in Greece).

There is no right or wrong way of doing such things. It is what works for you that matters. Anyway not relevant to the OP as his windlass does not power down.
 
Yes, I did this with the SL Anchorman windlass, fitted to my Dehler 35.

1. Replace the one-way (i.e. up only) solenoid with a 2-way available from SL Spares, Paisley. John McMaster is a really helpful guy & will supply what you need. Tel: 0141 589 6287.

2. Buy a wireless 2-way controller off eBay (actually you usually get 2 for your money) cheap as chips. Mine have lasted 5 years & I haven't even had to replace the tiny batteries in the handhelds yet.

I lower from the cockpit until I think the anchor has touched bottom, then walk forward with the 'Down' button active, as the boat drifts astern. I check for the next chain marker to appear, then either stop or lower more until I've enough scope out.

Hope this helps.
 
Tranona said:
No. If it does not power down, how can you operate it remotely? You will be able to power it up, either by hard wiring a switch at the helm or using a wireless remote.
Click to expand...

Ok a little bit lose , is the OP saying he can only drop his Manuel? Some thing I not seen before , all the ones that I know have up and down , if that's the case , of cause the wireless remote wouldn't be able to work both ways .
 
When I had the Centaur I installed a Quick windlass with a long coiled lead to the hand controller. This hung on the forward bulkhead of the cabin and could reach aft to the companionway or forward through the hatch of the forecabin. Anchoring was done from the cockpit when the boat had come to a stop, letting down enough chain for bottoming the anchor with some scope. I would then go to the foredeck and let out some more using the same control while keeping an eye on the chain markers. You still need to go forward anyway to hook a bridle onto the chain and take the strain off the windlass. The arrangement was as seen in this photo; the coiled lead is just visible behind the mast support.
1780872000.jpg


That was sixteen years ago.

On my present boat I have controls in a cockpit locker and a hand control in the chain locker; either one of them has 'up' and 'down'.
 
I've just reinstalled all the switches and wiring for the quick anchor winch on my roberts 25. I bought a new up/down switch and breaker on ebay, these are installed in the cockpit, the original up foot switch at the bow was thought to be faulty, so I bought another, but later found the micro switch was dirty. So I now have up & down foot switches at the bow. I thought it might be a bit ott, but after a jam, the down footswitch proved its worth
 
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Tranona said:
Because sometimes it is easier to at least get the anchor down, for example if you are singlehanded, or backing up to village quay (if you happen to be in Greece).

There is no right or wrong way of doing such things. It is what works for you that matters. Anyway not relevant to the OP as his windlass does not power down.
Click to expand...

Maybe not useful to the OP, but for what it's worth, we find remote control of the windlass to be extremely useful. I use it when setting the anchor, so that I can be at the helm and control the boat while the chain goes out. I can see the chain marks from my centre cockpit so that I know how much has gone out, but a chain counter can solve this for anyone who doesn't have such a view.

I do not use the remote control to raise the anchor -- too much which could go wrong, and also the chain needs to be flaked in the locker as it comes in.

But altogether very useful.
 
Thanks for responses but my question is whether my windlass, which we manually release to drop anchor, can be converted into an electrical "drop" and secondly whether this can be done from the cockpit! Any ideas?
 
zeehond said:
Thanks for responses but my question is whether my windlass, which we manually release to drop anchor, can be converted into an electrical "drop" and secondly whether this can be done from the cockpit! Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Edit. I've just looked at the online SL manuals (here http://slspares.co.uk/instruction-manuals-pdf.php). From the manuals it would appear that all the eclectic SL winches are able to operate in both directions. However the simplest method of wiring the winches was using a heavy duty footswitch that dealt with th current supplying the winch. Only one footswitch was used in this recommended installation, for hauling th anchor.
You'll need to look at your installation and decide on how to go about fitting a third cable to provide power in the opposite direction. Look at the manuals which have wiring diagrams using a reversing relay box. You can locate the actual switches where they best suit you or fit a radio remote control as suggested above.

End edit.

A way to check if your winch will operate in both directions would be to disconnect the power cables and reconnect them the other way round. Briefly operate the switch. If the winch runs happily in the down direction, then you can look to fitting a relay box which will enable you to make use of this. You can then follow the ideas above about what sort of controller/switches to fit. If on the other hand, the winch won't operate when you try to briefly operate with the reversed polarity, then you're stick with manual freefall operation.
 
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