Windlass dither

Kukri

Kukri

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I'm 66, and sail singlehanded. Like many people my age, I plan to do a lot more sailing over the remaining years of my active life, but of course I don't know how many years that will be, and £££ is limited. Boats can spend an infinite amount of money if you let them... My "singlehander's skill level" is quite good - I'm no R K-J but I've been at it for 48 years now, and the boat is well set up for singlehanding.

Boat has a Simpson Lawrence 555 manual windlass, which had chosen to seize solid.

Rebuild it or chuck it?

In favour of rebuilding is probably lower cost, and less Complicated Electrickery, and more exercise.

In favour of chuck it and start again is that everyone has electrics now, and one can imagine a situation such as clearing out of a bad anchorage at night in which just pressing the button seems attractive.
 
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I missed out on the manual windlass, having jumped from obedient wife to electric. Although there can be problems with fitting an electric windlass, there is great relief to be had from the ease with which one can just up-anchor and move on a whim. Anchoring and finding one's boat not quite in the right place is no problem, you just move to somewhere better instead of sticking it out in the hope that it will be OK.
 
You have answered your own question. You will bless yourself for your decision to fit a robust electric windlass every time you anchor. Suggest a 1000w horizontal axis with a gypsy one side and a warping drum the other. My personal choice would be a Lofrans Cayman 88 with a radio remote, 8mm chain and anchor of your choice.

Your SL was good in its time because the only practical alternative was hauling by hand, but they are slow and still hard work. As soon as electric windlasses fell in price the manual market collapsed. they are still falling in price and the current price for a Cayman is nearly 20% lower than it was when I last bought in 2013!
 
Tranona said:
You have answered your own question. You will bless yourself for your decision to fit a robust electric windlass every time you anchor. Suggest a 1000w horizontal axis with a gypsy one side and a warping drum the other. My personal choice would be a Lofrans Cayman 88 with a radio remote, 8mm chain and anchor of your choice.

Your SL was good in its time because the only practical alternative was hauling by hand, but they are slow and still hard work. As soon as electric windlasses fell in price the manual market collapsed. they are still falling in price and the current price for a Cayman is nearly 20% lower than it was when I last bought in 2013!
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Thanks. I like the idea of the radio remote.
 
If you're planning to spend a load of time on the hook then electric for sure. From a fellow singlehander largely living on the hook - spent a while with manual then bit the bullet and went LX with a garage door remote hanging round my neck- what a difference! Little niggle about position - no prob, just move and put put as much chain as you want.
Really would not want to ever go back to manual again.
 
Thanks, everyone. Decision made. Time to learn about the wiring and switchery and stuff.

Supplementary questions:

A: I'm not hugely keen on foot switches; they seem designed to go wrong, and if I am standing on the foredeck I might as well be using a manual windlass. Is it practical to avoid them, and do everything from the cockpit, with a radio remote?

B. I suppose one can still use the manual handle? - I don't like using the engine, if I can help it.
 
I retired on to my boat at age 62. I replaced the manual windlass with a Lofrans Tigress. I regard this as piece of essential safety gear. I can reanchor multiple times even when tired after a long passage to make sure I have a good hold.

Puling anchor after dragging at 4 am in a big squall is not difficult wet but not difficult.

As to what winch control is best, well initially I had foot switches but they kept failing so I went for a handheld plug in remote and was considering a wireless remote when I realised that foot switches were more convenient as they leave both hand free. I may go back to foot switches and replace them every 9 months as a consumable item.

In addition I may fit a switch by the helm to drop anchor. Sometimes when anchoring on my own in a crowded spot on a day when the reinforced trades are howling it is difficult to hurdle forward before the bow blows off from the desired precise spot.
 
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TQA said:
I retired on to my boat at age 62. I replaced the manual windlass with a Lofrans Tigress. I regard this as piece of essential safety gear. I can reanchor multiple times even when tired after a long passage to make sure I have a good hold.

Puling anchor after dragging at 4 am in a big squall is not difficult wet but not difficult.

As to what winch control is best, well initially I had foot switches but they kept failing so I went for a handheld plug in remote and was considering a wireless remote when I realised that foot switches were more convenient as they leave both hand free. I may go back to foot switches and replace them every 9 months as a consumable item.

In addition I may fit a switch by the helm to drop anchor. Sometimes when anchoring on my own in a crowded spot on a day when the reinforced trades are howling it is difficult to hurdle forward before the bow blows off from the desired precise spot.
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That's extremely helpful. Thank you.
 
Minn said:
A: I'm not hugely keen on foot switches; they seem designed to go wrong, and if I am standing on the foredeck I might as well be using a manual windlass. Is it practical to avoid them, and do everything from the cockpit, with a radio remote?
Click to expand...
Easy and cheap to fit a radio remote in parallel with any other switches, really handy!



B. I suppose one can still use the manual handle? - I don't like using the engine, if I can help it.
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Really really slow on my lofrans, but possible. Doesn't actually use a mass of power to lift the anchor so you should be OK usually just to run it off the batteries if you they pretty well charged.
 
I don't like foot switches either, but you can choose. More common now is to have a control on a wander lead with a plug in the anchor locker or as I had on the last boat hard wired in the forecabin and lead through the hatch. Not ideal and I normally never use use it relying on the remote, but knowing the alternative is available.

You would not want to use the manual lever in normal use for exactly the reason you are rejecting a manual windlass. Equally would not worry about using electricity if you have a properly sized battery. There are different views on how to wire it, some choose a dedicated battery and others use the domestic bank. You only need the engine ticking over if you do not want to drain power from the battery.
 
I favour the handheld control on a curly wire, plugged in to a socket in the anchor locker, as I find it's often necessary to give the chain in the locker a nudge to prevent the pyramid getting too high. A radio remote is also useful, especially for lowering the anchor - the cheap winch remotes from eBay work fine.
 
I blessed the decision to go electric when I reached my 60's. You really have to go this way, but some sugggestions:

1) Get a decent powered one and ignore the manufacturers over-optimistic recommendations as to the lowest powered one for your boat length - they haven't been faced with getting the thing up at 3 am in a rising gale which has put you on a lee shore.
2) If you are used to a manual you may, like me, find yourself uncomfortable with a remote and prefer to drop from the foredeck. A windlass that allows the anchor to be dropped free-fall can be an asset as there is no 'feel' to dropping under power with a remote.
3) The manual recovery option with an electric windlass is strictly for emergencies, do not think of it as an alternative to a manual windlass. In the event of breakdown, it may be easier to lead back to a primary winch.
 
In the majority of circumstances we use foot switches. Ours are years old and work faultlessly. Our windlass is a Maxwell, superb but not the cheapest. It came with a cockpit switch that is ideal for Med mooring and probably would be well suited to singlehanding, but the cheap Ebay solution would be almost as good.
 
I changed to electric this year. Best decision I’ve made yet (regarding the boat). I fitted a lofrans cayman. The wiring really isn’t that difficult, and I bought a wireless remote off eBay for £15ish which works fine. The lofrans one is approx £150! If you have any problems there are very helpful folk on here
 
We didn't have a choice of other than foot switches when we got ours, but given the limited amount we use it these days, it is not a problem.

You can indeed use the handle, but on ours at least, it is hard work and not very rewarding. A better use of the handle is to release the clutch and lower the anchor, should you wish to do so. This will only be practical if you service the winch occasionally and the clutch actually works!
 
I rebuilt my SL555 after 20 years of use, it was an easy and cheap process requiring just 2 new springs and a good clean.

The hardest part was striping the old coating off the outside and epoxying.

I now again have a totally reliable windlass with enormous power that should last another 20 years

Any electric winch wont have the reliability or the longevity.
 
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