So, Inspired by some others on this site, I recently decided to install a Maxwell HRC-FF8 600W electric windlass.
As noted by others, the
anchor locker is too shallow for effective functioning of a windlass. A greater locker depth is required to allow the rode to fall away from the windlass.My fiber-glassing skills are such that I lack the confidence to extend the existing locker into the V berth flotation area as described by Kookasnook, and I also lack the metalworking skills Highlander demonstrated during his windlass installation.
Instead, I decided to create and above-deck extension to provide the required fall for the rode. It is functional, but as you can see, it is a bit ugly:
The extension replaces the existing anchor locker hatch but reuses the hatch hinges and hasp & staple attachments. It is made of marine ply on a Tasmanian oak and epoxy frame and has tapered sides to reduce the risk of ropes fouling on it.
The entire extension can be lifted on the hinges for access to the locker and underside of the windlass. An additional door has been provided at the aft end of the extension, to enable monitoring of, and easy access to, the rode.
The windlass is controlled by an up-down switch on the helm, or by a parallel switch on the extension box in the bow.
I now have 20m of 6mm chain rode which is adequate for most of the locations I anchor plus about 40m of 12mm 3 strand nylon rode of other situations. The gypsy handles both type of rode with no problems
The windlass worked well during initial sea trials and certainly makes both deployment and retrieval of the 32 kg combination of anchor and rode effortless.
However, there are a few problems yet to be sorted out:
* These windlasses are very powerful. They retrieve the rode with speed (33m or 108ft/minute) and vigor (maximum pull 410kg or 900lbs).
* I did not fit a rode counter, but painted color coded length markings on the rode. These are easy to see through the extension's aft door.
* The extension obscures the view of the anchor roller from the cockpit. This makes it difficult to determine when the anchor has been retrieved and also to determine the alignment of the incoming rode with the roller.
* The
anchor roller is too short for the Manson Supreme. This was not a problem with manual retrieval but unless great care is taken as the anchor enters the roller, the windlass will slam the point of the anchor into the bow.* Alignment of rode with the roller during retrieval is important. The rode will jump off the roller if it is misaligned. I had already fitted a stainless steel yoke/hoop to the roller to prevent this during manual retrieval, but the force exerted by the windlass wrecked the yoke when I failed to align the rode.
Hopefully these problems will be resolved by the new, heavy duty roller that I have on order. It is longer (to prevent the anchor point from reaching the bow) and hinged (to improve launching and to ease the entry of the anchor during retrieval). It has flanges that should guide the rode onto the rollers better, and will be fitted with a heavy duty yoke to overcome the alignment problem.
Hopefully my anchoring woes will soon be over
not sure how deep they made there anchor locker