Steve Bedford
Senior Member
On another forum, I replied to a question about where to place a windlass battery. I know that some of the participants on this forum also participate on that forum but not all do. I decided to post my response here:
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Please allow a current powerboat owner (former sailboat owner) provide a comment to this knowledgeable group. We sell our anchors to sailboat owners and I always try to ask about their entire ground tackle set-up. I learn a lot and can also then offer some suggestions and recommendations.
Some of my sailboat customers have found a separate dedicated windlass battery below the V-berth area to be quite good in not losing voltage over a long cable run from the rear of the vessel. The challenge then is how to charge the battery? Options typically include either solar panels, wind generators, or alternator charging from the engine. I did not mention shore power because it is probably understood that if docked and plugged in to shore power, some sort or battery charging system would include charging the dedicated windlass battery.
Solar and/or wind power can work to charge batteries underway. However, lots of my sailboat customers on the Chesapeake Bay and on the ICW of the East coast of the US admit they spend a lot time under power and not sailing. Unfortunate but happens that way. In those cases, when there is no auxiliary generator on the vessel that can charge battery banks while underway either with the main engine running or the sails up, the following system seems to work well:
1. The windlass is tied into the house bank.
2. Heavy cabling (0000) is run from bank to windlass to minimize the drop in electricity.
3. The main engine, while running, first charges the house bank then some combiner type device or relay switches the power supply from the alternator to the house bank to the start battery (when the house bank is satisfied). Typically the start battery does not require a lot of charge on a properly tuned and functioning engine. Also, some of these folks have their solar and/or wind generator charging tied into to charge the start battery.
4. Minimize the electric draw from the windlass: utilize more of a “free fall” when deploying the anchor and use the main engine to help reduce the strain on the engine motor (and electric draw) by powering forward to create a slack chain or rope rode and not using the windlass motor to pull the boat toward the anchor. Also use the main engine to “break the anchor free” from the bottom and not the windlass motor. These steps minimizes the electric draw of windlass (there still is a significant draw) and saves the windlass motor.
On my prior vessel, Willard Trawler, I had this setup with a large as possible house bank of 6 volt batteries in series and parellel and a dedicated start battery. There was a 000 cable to the bow thruster and the windlass (never operated both at the same time). There was a combiner that directed the alternator charge first to the house bank then to the start battery. Never a problem with power to the windlass or the bow thrurster.
Now a new boat (power) to me. Came with an undersized house bank to safely anchor all night with sufficient power and a start battery that supplied power to: main engine, generator start, windlass, and bow thruster. The battery banks and arrangements were not to my liking so I re-did to a simlar arrangement of my prior trawler.: large house bank serving house, windlass, bow thruster, and inverter devices. This bank has a dedicated charger/inverter. Dedicated start battery to just the main engine. That alternator charges the start battery first and then supplies the house bank. Dedicated generator start battery. New charger just for the two start batteries.
I know this system might not work for sailboat owners but the concept might work. I know it does from some of my customers.
——-
Please allow a current powerboat owner (former sailboat owner) provide a comment to this knowledgeable group. We sell our anchors to sailboat owners and I always try to ask about their entire ground tackle set-up. I learn a lot and can also then offer some suggestions and recommendations.
Some of my sailboat customers have found a separate dedicated windlass battery below the V-berth area to be quite good in not losing voltage over a long cable run from the rear of the vessel. The challenge then is how to charge the battery? Options typically include either solar panels, wind generators, or alternator charging from the engine. I did not mention shore power because it is probably understood that if docked and plugged in to shore power, some sort or battery charging system would include charging the dedicated windlass battery.
Solar and/or wind power can work to charge batteries underway. However, lots of my sailboat customers on the Chesapeake Bay and on the ICW of the East coast of the US admit they spend a lot time under power and not sailing. Unfortunate but happens that way. In those cases, when there is no auxiliary generator on the vessel that can charge battery banks while underway either with the main engine running or the sails up, the following system seems to work well:
1. The windlass is tied into the house bank.
2. Heavy cabling (0000) is run from bank to windlass to minimize the drop in electricity.
3. The main engine, while running, first charges the house bank then some combiner type device or relay switches the power supply from the alternator to the house bank to the start battery (when the house bank is satisfied). Typically the start battery does not require a lot of charge on a properly tuned and functioning engine. Also, some of these folks have their solar and/or wind generator charging tied into to charge the start battery.
4. Minimize the electric draw from the windlass: utilize more of a “free fall” when deploying the anchor and use the main engine to help reduce the strain on the engine motor (and electric draw) by powering forward to create a slack chain or rope rode and not using the windlass motor to pull the boat toward the anchor. Also use the main engine to “break the anchor free” from the bottom and not the windlass motor. These steps minimizes the electric draw of windlass (there still is a significant draw) and saves the windlass motor.
On my prior vessel, Willard Trawler, I had this setup with a large as possible house bank of 6 volt batteries in series and parellel and a dedicated start battery. There was a 000 cable to the bow thruster and the windlass (never operated both at the same time). There was a combiner that directed the alternator charge first to the house bank then to the start battery. Never a problem with power to the windlass or the bow thrurster.
Now a new boat (power) to me. Came with an undersized house bank to safely anchor all night with sufficient power and a start battery that supplied power to: main engine, generator start, windlass, and bow thruster. The battery banks and arrangements were not to my liking so I re-did to a simlar arrangement of my prior trawler.: large house bank serving house, windlass, bow thruster, and inverter devices. This bank has a dedicated charger/inverter. Dedicated start battery to just the main engine. That alternator charges the start battery first and then supplies the house bank. Dedicated generator start battery. New charger just for the two start batteries.
I know this system might not work for sailboat owners but the concept might work. I know it does from some of my customers.