Buyer's Guide to Windlasses

Once a yacht gets longer than about 33 feet, the weight of anchor and chain make it more difficult to weigh anchor. For a 35 ft yacht using the recommended size of anchor and an all chain rode, the weight of 8mm chain you will have to haul up in 8 metres of water will be 11 kg and as the anchor comes off the bottom that increases to 26kg. conditions. Breaking out the anchor may double that load so we may be looking at a pull of 50 to 60 kg, without taking into account the effect of wind and tide.

The anchor can be broken out under engine power, which can also overcome the effect of wind and tide, but that still leaves us with a load of 26 kg, the weight of a 5hp outboard, to pull for a couple of minutes, depending on our fitness and strength. If the water is deeper the load will be greater.

It is not surprising that many owners of a 35 ft yacht fit an anchor windlass.

ELECTRIC OR MANUAL WINDLASS?

Manual Windlasses

Manual windlasses use gearing to reduce the effort needed by the operator, to weigh anchor. The choice of model is limited and they are nothing like as popular as electric windlasses, which is a pity, because they are far more reliable and lighter overall than electric models and they consume no electricity.

They may be single speed with a gearing of about 12:1 or two speed with gearing of about 14:1 and 40:1. A 12:1 ratio means that a 26 kg pull on the anchor rode is reduced to just over 2 kg on the windlass handle. Recovery of 35 metres of rode could take several minutes. A good manual windlass may cost more than an electric windlass, but it will give years of trouble-free service. Just as few of us rush off to buy powered genoa sheet winches for a 35 foot yacht, we don't have to buy a powered windlass.

Electric Windlasses

Electric windlasses can give effortless anchor handling for the yachtsman. Mounted right at the front of the boat they get regularly doused in salt water, which doesn't go too well with the electrics and electric motor. If the chain jams in the hawse pipe, the motor will continue to be powered and damage can result.

An electric windlass may be free fall, with powered recovery or it may be powered in both directions. If you don't want to pile all your chain on top of your anchor, there's much to be said for opting for powered in both directions.

An electric windlass needs to be carefully matched to the size of boat and for a typical 35 footer, this will mean a 600 to 1000 watt motor with a maximum current draw of around 70 amps. Many yachtsmen fit too small a windlass. Recovery of 35 metres of rode will take around 3 minutes. Because of the high current draw, it's a good idea to have the engine running when you weigh anchor.

Heavy cable must be used to supply the windlass to avoid significant voltage drop, which will not only reduce the power but also the life expectancy of the windlass. You need to consider the total length of wire (black and red) so for a 10 metre distance and a 3% voltage drop, that means a 50 square mm conductor size (AWG 1/0) at £6.50 a metre. This is starter sized cable with an outside diameter of 13mm and you won't often see this size fitted. An alternative method is to mount a separate battery for the windlass (and bow thruster, if fitted) forward to minimise the voltage drop and run a much lighter charging cable (16 square mm) at £2.50 per metre from the engine to the windlass battery. A modern high power/low amp hour battery such as a 'Red Flash' can be used to save weight and size.

If possible the motor unit of a vertical windlass should not be mounted in the chain locker because it would be permanently damp.

Windlass type

There are two types of windlass; horizontal - proper windlass, and vertical - properly called a capstan.

The horizontal windlass is aligned with the bow fitting so if you need to pull in a different direction you will need to rig a pulley block. Vertical windlasses can be more versatile for pulling in different directions if you have a 'warping' drum.

Windlasses can be used to pull chain or rope. For chain you need a 'gypsy' and for rope a drum. Some windlasses have a special gypsy that can pull both chain and three-strand rope so that combination chain and rope rodes can be handled.

The gypsy must be matched to the size of chain used, not only the diameter of the steel, but also to the length of link. Un-calibrated chain has links of varying length, whereas calibrated chain has links of uniform length to fit the gypsy. There are long and short calibrated links, so make sure you get the correct one.

	Pat Manley

Pat is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and has been sailing dinghies since 1959 and cruising yachts since 1984. He is a Yachtmaster Instructor (sail) and Yachtmaster (power) is the principal of 1 to 1 Navigation and sails a Westerly Oceanquest 35. A member of the Yachting Journalists Association, he is a regular contributor to Practical Boat Owner Magazine, he also writes for Fernhurst Books who have published his Diesel Companion, Electrics Companion and Radar Companion. Just published is his new hardback book, Small Boat Maintenance. www.1to1navigation.co.uk