Windlass issue with rope to chain!!

[Mike k]

Just spent a good afternoon berthing bow- in to gain access to the front chain locker and after spreading 50m of chain along the pontoon , inserting little plastic markers in the chain links to determine lenght of chain let out and then trying to follow a You tube account of a chain/rope backsplice. I wanted to add 50m of rope,i had checked current short rope and it seemed to go through windlass okish but after the splicing event ,when this rope (14mm) was tried through the windlass it seemed to be getting chewed a bit and getting stuck.The windlass is a 'Quick' but not sure which version. It seems to have teeth which looks like they are designed to grab chain ( 8mm) and i wondered if it really is only suitable for chain not rope. Has anybody got any experience of these circumstances or windlass?

thanks in advance for any replies.

regards

Mike

 

[sarabande]

from their website

"Can I use both rope and chain on the same gypsy?

Yes this is possible depending on the windlass model. Which models are suitable for a rope/chain combination is clearly indicated in both the catalogue and the user manual."


Next step is to find the model....

 

[hlb]

I always found rope a problem, even with the right gypsey.

 

[PaulGooch]

Just spent a good afternoon berthing bow- in to gain access to the front chain locker and after spreading 50m of chain along the pontoon , inserting little plastic markers in the chain links to determine lenght of chain let out and then trying to follow a You tube account of a chain/rope backsplice. I wanted to add 50m of rope,i had checked current short rope and it seemed to go through windlass okish but after the splicing event ,when this rope (14mm) was tried through the windlass it seemed to be getting chewed a bit and getting stuck.The windlass is a 'Quick' but not sure which version. It seems to have teeth which looks like they are designed to grab chain ( 8mm) and i wondered if it really is only suitable for chain not rope. Has anybody got any experience of these circumstances or windlass?

thanks in advance for any replies.

regards

Mike

We have a Lofrans (very similar to a Quick) on our Merry Fisher 805 that uses 8mm chain and 14mm rope. The rope is attached to the chain with a tapered chain splice. That's very similar to a mooring line splice, apart from the first tuck. After doing the requisite number of tucks, i snip 1/3 of the strands and "weld" to the rope with a hot knife. Another tuck with the remaining 2/3rds, snip 1/3 and weld. followed by a final tuck with the last 1/3rd and a last weld.

This neatly goes around the gypsy without snagging. However, i do need to be at the bow when retrieving the anchor. The chain comes through the gypsy and into the locker just fine. When it gets to the rope, i find i need to keep a light pressure on the rope as it exists the stripper, roughly coiling the rope in the locker. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in the rope fouling the stripper, as it doesn't exit correctly into the locker and tries to pass through the stripper doubled over.

 

[Mike k]

thanks for responses Sarabande and Haydn am gonna take a pic and send to Quick. Paul thanks for your post i reckon the splice was ok but the teeth seemed to chew the rope.HMMMM am wondering if when i find the make it says not recommended for rope.I will post the outcome.

 

[hlb]

With 50M of chain, I cant think why you would need rope., except maybe fishing.

I found that even though the rope went through the gypsey Ok, it either stuck to it and tried to go round again, or had not enough weight to drop down into the anchor locker, so it bunched up on deck.

 

[Tejas]

We have a horizontal Quick windlass, and making the retrieval transition from line to chain is a hassle -- the gypsy repeatedly grabs the splice and then slips before grabbing the chain. I'm guessing that a there would be less of a problem with a vertical windlass. Retrieving line seems to go better if the line is tailed.

To help make the transition from line to chain and idling in reverse, I use one foot to put downward pressure on the moving line until the chain is caught by the gypsy. It usually take several tries before making the transition is successful. I worry a bit about the safety of this, but it seems to be the only way to make the transition.

 

[PaulGooch]

thanks for responses Sarabande and Haydn am gonna take a pic and send to Quick. Paul thanks for your post i reckon the splice was ok but the teeth seemed to chew the rope.HMMMM am wondering if when i find the make it says not recommended for rope.I will post the outcome.

Or, post a picture of the gypsy ?