A friend used to have an anchor wench, but she finally insisted he get a wind lass. They both sleep better now!!
Ever use an anchor ball? I always have one aboard in case the windlass craps out, or the anchor gets hung.
That's another factor, but I've seen it work "OK" at fairly slow speed.not sure if my boat is fast enough to make it work...
AKDoug,
That’s what Chapman’s said.
Now I only have 4’ of chain but it’s 5/8” chain as heavy as 15’ of 1/4” chain. .
One further note on how much chain, as I am digging through my masses of paperwork associated with all the crap I have for my boat and trying to thin it down. The Rocna anchor guide recommends at least the length of your vessel in anchor chain.
It makes me wonder how many other anchor manufacturers have a stated preference as to chain length, that we never bother to read when we buy a new anchor since we assume we already know what we're doing? I never saw that guide before and I have had the anchor for 5 seasons...