Chain with capstan?

Although not conventional, is it possible to secure rubber to capstan and use capstan to bring in 40’ of 5/16 chain?

Restitution will have 300’ of nylon and 40’ of chain rode. Planning for inside passage then upgrading to larger boat thereafter. So, we are trying to make do with what we have. Other alternative is using capstan for nylon and then man-handling the 40’ of chain and 33# Bruce.

Has anybody tried this?

I think it is going to just slip slip slip a chain against the capstan. And likely really ruin any finish on the capstan. Plus the chain is going to bind up on itself as it is wrapped around the drum. The reason a capstan works is friction between rope and metal drum.

The chain will slip and chew up your capstan.

Another option is to mount a pulley block as far back on the deck as possible and run your rode through this. If you can find a pulley that will handle rope and chain, and mount it 20 feet back, you'll be able to pull you anchor all the way up with rope on the capstan.

Think heavy rubber, such as 1/2” of inner tube wrapped and stretched over capstan numerous times? Would that work? Certainly not long term, but for one summer?

Restitution said:

Think heavy rubber, such as 1/2” of inner tube wrapped and stretched over capstan numerous times? Would that work? Certainly not long term, but for one summer?

Click to expand...

If the rubber was actually thick, strong well bonded, but tire inner tube I think the chain is going to rip the rubber. Only you can determine by trying it.

I think whats going to happen is your capstan is dished, wrapping rubber will make it flatter and lines and chains will want to run off the edges. If it worked well, why dont manufacturers have ribber coated capstans as chain winches.

If the chain slips it will tear up the rubber. I think the forces are great enough to rip it up regardless when hauling up heavy chain

I can see that. I will give it a try and report back. I will try to stretch innertube very tight.

Thank you for all of your input.

Sam

Ideal Windlass company offered a rubberized capstan. You might check their site for ideas.

Ted

40 feet of 5/16ths chain weighs less than 40 pounds in the water if it’s all hanging straight down. In ten feet of water it’s way less so I think you should easily be able to man handle it. I’ve pulled quite a bit of 1/2” by hand so I know it can be done, but another solution might be to just run the nylon part of the rode to a snatch or turning block 25’ aft of your bow roller. That way you can pull the whole rode aboard and lay it out all out on a side deck using your capstan as is. Then all you’ll need to do is stow the chain once you get under way. Might also be a plus to have it on deck for washing.

I think you’ll be fine w half that much chain.
Or half the 40’ but w 3/8ths chain. Would be easier to pull and present enough weight on the shank end to keep the anchor fluke pointed down as it should be.
Also a 12 to 18lb kellet would help even more and of course it gets pulled before all the rest of the rode and anchor.

What kind of Claw do you have? You may be better off w a Bruce or another Claw that has the same throat angle as the Bruce. That is .. a low throat angle. The Lewmar Claw has a wide throat angle. I think the low throat angle is the main reason the Bruce seems to work better.

You could use a 22lb Danforth (w forged flukes and shank) for most of your anchoring and the bigger Claw for the nasty.

Yet another idea is to use a Fortress but you’d need to find one used if you’re on a budget and it looks like that could be the case. You’ll get more holding power from a Danforth type anchor that anything else .. per pound. And when you’re pulling by hand on a 38 foot boat light is golden. But the Danforths are dificult to handle and foul more easily than most others. Oh ... and re Mark they pinch one’s fingers.

But re the OP I along w others wouldn’t recomend using the capstan drum to pull the chain.
And take care of your “rotater cuff” while pulling rode. That operation and recovery is very nasty.

Restitution said:

Although not conventional, is it possible to secure rubber to capstan and use capstan to bring in 40’ of 5/16 chain?

Restitution will have 300’ of nylon and 40’ of chain rode. Planning for inside passage then upgrading to larger boat thereafter. So, we are trying to make do with what we have. Other alternative is using capstan for nylon and then man-handling the 40’ of chain and 33# Bruce.

Has anybody tried this?

Click to expand...

Let's say you're anchored in 10' of water and your pulpit is 5' above the waterline.

That last 15' of chain will weigh about 15-lbs (plus/minus) so the total weight of chain and anchor will be about 48-lbs.

Maybe not optimal to haul by hand, but... maybe you could do that for a while?

Or if not... you could maybe save 10-lbs (unresearched WAG) by switching to a Fortress sized for your next boat? You could well need a Fortress, even if only as back-up, on that boat anyway.



-Chris

What's the setup look like now? Post a pic?

Suggest you think seriously about getting the right capstan for your chain and windlass. Manually pulling that weight from a muddy bottom with 20 knot winds and in a heaving angry sea in a rainstorm creates a safety issue.

The conditions I describe above are not uncommon in WA, BC and AK.

ranger42c said:

Let's say you're anchored in 10' of water and your pulpit is 5' above the waterline.
...

Click to expand...

He's heading north. On BC's north coast tides can be over 20' so if he's anchored in 10' it'd better be low tide!

The bottom usually drops fast to really deep water; swinging at anchor can leave you on an estuary drying flat or beach, so you have to anchor in even deeper water to give room for swinging at low tide. He'll be hauling the whole works pretty much every time.

sunchaser said:

Suggest you think seriously about getting the right capstan for your chain and windlass. .

Click to expand...

Good thought; maybe the windlass maker offers a gypsy/chainwheel option that can be swapped in... for not too many $$$ ?

-Chris

ranger42c said:

Good thought; maybe the windlass maker offers a gypsy/chainwheel option that can be swapped in... for not too many $$$ ?

Click to expand...

That was also my thought, and why I asked for some pix. Could be there's a way to get a chainwheel option for the gear he's already got.

I believe the capstan can safely pull up chain. You will have to keep tension on the chain that comes off the drum in order to keep the chain from slipping on the capstan. The more wraps of chain your capstan drum can hold, the less the chain will slip. Wrapping the capstan with tightly wound tire inner tube will give you more grip and provide some protection to the capstan. Why don't you just try this at the dock under controlled conditions? Best way to find out.

Simplest is to tie a 45 ft piece of line at both ends of the chain.

As the chain begins to come aboard untie the line and use it with the capstan to pull the chain up and aboard.

In some ways better than a chain windlass or capstan as you don't need to scrub any muck off the chain.

Leave the chain on deck ,lashed perhaps with a snotter to keep it from going overboard.

I have a galley maid that has a wildcat for chain and a capstan above. I have used it to haul chain occasionally as my second anchor has a different chain than the primary and doesn’t fit the wildcat (previous owner). I seldom use secondary so wasn’t worried about it. Marked up capstan a bit, but no worries (disclaimer: mine is old and bronze)

I remember reading about using leather instead of rubber. Tougher for sure. Something about wrapping it, stitching it, and shrinking it with water perhaps. Something to think about.

FF said:

Simplest is to tie a 45 ft piece of line at both ends of the chain. As the chain begins to come aboard untie the line and use it with the capstan to pull the chain up and aboard.

Click to expand...

This is the best idea of all of them.

However if you wish to go the snatch block placed 15' back from the bow" route, then I'd suggest just using 15' of chain, but goto a used marine supply and buy a nice 60+ lb anchor.

Nice. That is an interesting option.

Perhaps, yes. That is what I was thinking. I just read another post that discussed wrapping with leather and then getting leather wet to shrink it.

I may try both. Perhaps the most cost effective that has bred suggested is to see if we can retrofit a different rope/chain gypsy in place of the drum.

ranger42c said:

Good thought; maybe the windlass maker offers a gypsy/chainwheel option that can be swapped in... for not too many $$$ ?

-Chris

Click to expand...

Chris,

A fantastic idea. I just telephoned Englund Marine in Astoria and they said that they would likely be able to accommodate. I will keep you posted.

My best

Sam

When I bought my boat, it came with a Powerwinch with a rubber capstan. It worked fine for the line, but the chain would slip and not retrieve. I switched to a real windlass with a combo rode gypsy and all is fine.

I suspect that FF's idea of securing a line in tandem with your 40' of chain would end up twisting on the chain, interfering with the retrieve. Has anyone ever tried this on a line-only capstan?

In a past discussion on this subject and as a result, I made an effort to anchor and retrieve both the anchor rode and chain using the rubber coated capstan designed singularly as a line only application. (Same capstan that Eric has or had on his boat). I was able to accomplish the goal of having the chain with a extra wrap, to complete the retrieval. It did not seem to mar the coating. Two things I consider with our application. One-I do not anchor all that frequently, Two, the weight of the chain and anchor is not so significant that I am able to hoist it aboard hand over hand. That being said, while it works for me where a smaller trawler is involved, on larger boat exceeding say, 35 feet the use may prove negative.
My original inquiry to the subject was based on my age in future years of boating where that hoisting action may require a modification or replacement of the winch.

Problem solved. I did wrap the capstan with inner tube and secured. It worked like a charm several times.

Thank you everybody for your input.

My best

Sam

If you decide to go with a larger Bruce, I have a 30 kg Genuine Bruce anchor that I don’t need (replaced it with a Spade of the same size). The anchor is located in Bellevue. $300. The anchor was original equipment on my 2003 42 Nordic Tug. I don’t think the original owners used it much.

Send me a PM if you are interested.

You don’t happen to have 40’ of chain as well perhaps?

No, sorry! Just the 40 feet that is going on my new spare anchor!!

Restitution said:

Problem solved. I did wrap the capstan with inner tube and secured. It worked like a charm several times.

Thank you everybody for your input.

My best

Sam

Click to expand...

Curious how you secured the rubber to the capstan?
Some adhesive?

Nopistn said:

Curious how you secured the rubber to the capstan?
Some adhesive?

Click to expand...

I wrapped the innertube in the correct direction so tension will with rode will not unwinds the tube. Then I did two wraps with the Miracle Tape that they sell at boat shows to miraculously cure all ills involving hoses.