Windlass ???

[lindatboating]

I'm new to the forum.

We have a custom built 46 ft. steel hulled pilot house trawler with a 471 Detroit Diesel. She was originally built as a Government Fisheries Inspection boat that was converted to the pleasure craft that she is today. We purchased her in rough shape back in 2000 and have been working on her ever since. It has taken 13 years because we only work on it in the spring and fall, then when the ratio of work to pleasure tips too far, we launch and live aboard to enjoy her.

We are finally down to the last few items on our list and one of them is a Windlass. We cruise on Lake Winnipeg. Although it is huge cruising ground, 9,465 square miles, it has an average depth of approximately 39 ft. So we think that a manual Windlass will suffice.
Any thoughts? Or advice?

 

[markpierce]

Get a powered windlass.

 

[River Cruiser]

Get a powered windlass.

+1 pushing a button or switch is much less tiresome if you anchor out often.

 

[Captain K]

What type ground tackle do you anticipate using? That makes a difference. If your rode will be a combination of short chain and line you may be perfectly happy with a manual windlass. If your rode is all chain with a hefty anchor, I would concur with those above who suggest a powered windlass. This will become more apparent with the passage of years...speaking from experience now.

 

[Codger2]

Any thoughts? Or advice?

My advice..........

 

[FlyWright]

What's wrong? Ain't got no first mate?

 

[Pineapple Girl]

If you want to keep your s.o. / wife happy go with power.

 

[markpierce]

The Admiral has her limits.

 

[Conrad]

You are probably going to want an anchor that weighs 45 pounds or so at least, depending on the displacement of your vessel. Add more pounds for chain weight, and that could be a handful to haul up every time.

Where you will find the powered windlass very beneficial is that it allows you to easily reset your anchor and/or change anchor spots; manually hauling would get tiresome pretty quickly if you are having to reset in poor holding ground, especially after a long cruising day.

 

[CPseudonym]

Enough anchor to hold 50' of boat in place. This is "pleasure boating", power. Thirtyish foot boat hand windlass would be ok but power is still more in keeping with the pleasure aspect in my opinion. Especially as we age.

 

[FlyWright]

Of course, I was kidding. I wanted the Admiral to enjoy boating (and I didn't want to work so hard) so I also installed a powered windlass with redundant remotes. The most she needs to do is spray the anchor and chain with the built-in wash down hose as the anchor slips effortlessly into its cradle.

 

[markpierce]

... Thirtyish foot boat hand windlass would be ok but power is still more in keeping with the pleasure aspect in my opinion. Especially as we age.

Those are precisely my thoughts.

 

[markpierce]

Of course, I was kidding. I wanted the Admiral to enjoy boating (and I didn't want to work so hard) so I also installed a powered windlass with redundant remotes. The most she needs to do is spray the anchor and chain with the built-in wash down hose as the anchor slips effortlessly into its cradle.

And here I am hauling up, or was it dropping, the anchor with my "foot on the peddle."

 

[Bay Pelican]

Go with a powered windlass. You have heard two arguments so far, convenience and things like powered windlasses are needed as we age.

A third agrument for a powered windlass is that we are not always perfect when we anchor and then the better course of action is to lift the anchor and anchor again. There is more a reluctance to lift and reset when using a manual windlass than when it just involves pushing the button. After years of living at anchor I have a good eye for determining where to drop, I however still lift and reset frequently.

Marty

 

[FF]

AS an ex gov boat is /was hydraulics aboard?

 

[psneeld]

I like windlasses with a vertical capstan...you would be surprised at how often you use it when you have the luxury.

If you get a horizontal one...look to see where you can attach a snatch block so a line will feed out your hawse holes.

 

[AKFish]

Powered. However, go hydraulic if you can. I converted my Lofrans from a 1.5 KW electric to a hydraulic driven motor. I used a high speed low torque motor, since the worm gear was something like a 25:1 reduction. I did this because of having to reset the hook during a blow several times, then having electrical capacity issues after that. I've had zero problems since.

 

[Bay Pelican]

No one has even remotely suggested that you put a manual windlass on a 49ft steel boat. The remaining question is electric or hydraulic. Hydraulic is nice. I wish I had it, but then I have hydraulic stabilizers and would not be adding to the complexity of the boat solely for a windlass.

If your battery bank is sufficient and you have a generator a good powerful electric windlass should be sufficient. On those occasions where I have pulled up the anchor twice and then set on the third attempt I have brought the battery bank down from a full charge and have had to turn on the generator sooner than anticipated. But that is not the world's biggest problem.

Just make sure your cables to the windlass are of sufficient size.

Marty

 

[Nomad Willy]

I hand anchored until recently on my 30' Willard by hand. And hand over hand or even a hand operated windlass is very slow. Even my small electric capstan is more than a little slow. You w your large heavy boat will be slower than the slow (me). My small electric capstan has helped. I'm very limited w my chain length though.

The deal breaker for you though will probably be speed. There are times when we need to get the anchor up quickly to avoid danger or down to get hooked fast. Pulling the rode and anchor for a 46' vessel will be so slow one could get into ............ I'm not even sure it could be done. The question could have been how many windlass slaves will it take? Obviously it can be done as years ago it WAS done. Slaves leaning into a bar going around and around the vertical capstan. Everybody did it then.

But the hand windlass's we have now I think are intended for a 30-40' boat w a 40lb anchor and some chain. Well .. I did say "40' boat" didn't I? My advice is w the others (I always go along w the crowd) to get a power winch. But before you slam the door on the hand windlass contact a hand windlass manufacturer and ask them what the maximum rode weight/length they recommend. When pulling by hand w a lot of rode out (200'+) it can be very tiring just pulling up the slack w 5/8ths nylon. Several hundred feet of 3/4" line loaded into a PU truck from a parking lot would probably be a lot of work ...... so yes .. power windlass.

 

[Chrisjs]

With a steel boat that size I am guessing you displace well in excess of 50K lbs. You should only go with chain and an anchor weighing at least 75lb (bigger is better). When you add up the weight of your new anchor plus 40ft of 3/8 chain you will find you will not be able to lift it by hand, unless you are Charles Atlas.

 

[C lectric]

I have a 32' boat, 100' 3/8" chain and a 35# anchor.
I have hauled it by hand several times and that grows tiresome really fast particularily if the boat ends up where I don't want it or I have to reset due to bottom conditions

Keep in mind that your boat will have windage , a lot more than mine and even though you may power into the wind to reduce anchor load you will still have additional resistance to manual hauling. Enough maybe to make it nearly impossible to get free.

Go with a powered windlass And be sure it can be operated manually as a safety.

 

[Marin]

(Lindatboating--- sent a Private Message re windlass type)

 

[markpierce]

If you had an all-rope rode for a 35-pound anchor and are young and in good shape, you could probably get by without a windlass. But with your current anchor chain, you're much better off with a powered windlass.

 

[boatpoker]

No one has yet mentioned speed. If you are caught dragging in stinky weather and need to re-set in a hurry, the powered windlass can be the difference between an uncomfortable experience and a disaster.

 

[AusCan]

I think everyone is in agreement that a windlass is pretty much a necessity on a boat that size. Its just a question of what type.

Even on my 30 ft boat, I wouldn't be without a windlass. I have a 38lb anchor with a vertical electric driven capstan. The capstan is fine for my rode but I pull the last 20 ft of chain by hand. This alone is a challenge when on my own in rough seas. I plan on solving this problem by rigging up a pulley back at the pilothouse so I can get the anchor to surface before the chain gets to the capstan.

 

[Marlinmike]

I agree with everyone, once you go power you never go back. If it's a cost issue, some manufacturers have reconditioned models with warranties, just a thought.

 

[OFB]

I like to believe I am a tough guy. But trying to haul 100 plus pounds of ground tackle up and in some kind of order on deck sucks and takes the breath out of you.

Go power.

I went away from hydraulic to electric. I will use my anchor to hold the boat off rocks and what not if I have issues with the power ( ie emergency parking break ). In a single powered vessel its nice to be able to haul that gear if the engine will not run. Even for a tow. Jumper cables can be a real friend in such moments as well.

YMMV

 

[healhustler]

I was just thinking that also. While cruising in Germany, we were renting the Euro 400 diesel trawlers (43') with hydraulic bow thruster and windlass. It made a heck of a noise, but it was a great performer. Trouble was that if the engine gave out while docking, one didn't have the thrusters to move bow or stern. The real plus was that you could run that thruster for a couple of minutes with no issue except maybe a little heat. One boat we rented also had the Nanni/Peachment Hydraulic drive, which was little more than the same hydraulic setup with thru-transom mounted hydraulic motor and the pressure lines going through a directional flow changing valve at the helm. This was a sweetheart of a setup for renters that were hard on transmissions and shafts. You could go from full throttle fwd. and pull the valve right through the gate to full throttle reverse without blinking an eye. I'm sure it wasn't the pinnacle in efficiency (getting HP to the prop), but I bet it saved many a euro's worth of trannies. I still think that a well thought-out electric windlass with proper sized cables and better yet, a battery near the bow, is the most economical, reliable combo for the money. If I went hydraulic for one item like windlass or bow thruster, I'd go all the way.

 

[FF]

>Trouble was that if the engine gave out while docking, one didn't have the thrusters to move bow or stern.<

And the last time that happened was?

 

[healhustler]

>Trouble was that if the engine gave out while docking, one didn't have the thrusters to move bow or stern.<

And the last time that happened was?

True, I haven't been involved in such an incident, but don't forget that I'm talking about rental trawlers here. In the few deep locks where the lock master requested engines to be shut off during full capacity, line etiquette and handling was sometimes hard to believe. Bumper-car like effects ensued. Captains with electric thrusters could attempt to compensate for the terrible line handling of their first mate. The rental company owner told us that this is where the bulk of damage to his rentals occurred. Still, overall, the hydraulic systems had the advantage over the electric, and the occasional bump and break is written-off as part of the cost of doing business.

Although Europe requires more training for boat handling than we do here, my Admiral and I were astounded with the terrible boat handling there. I have to admit that the hydraulic thruster did save us at least once when we exited a lock and a gust hit us broadside, sending us dangerously close to the opposing lock traffic. I had to lay on that thruster for 30 seconds or more to keep the bow straight. With no keel, a flat bottom and a small rudder, I had to use it. Woops...sorry if I drifted off here a little.