All,
I have been studying and reading about windlass installation. I can't decide if I want to cut a hole in the deck and put the windlass motor in the vberth (seems easy), or fabricate a mount for the windlass and motor completely inside the anchor locker.
I like the idea of the warping drum for lifting dinghy or someone up the mast. Is it possible to put a windlass in the anchor locker with a warping drum or will it have to be up to high for the locker lids to close? I do not know how low it can be mounted and still have the proper angle of chain feed. Does anyone use the warping drum?
—
Catalina 36 MK1
1984 Hull #306
Hi there
We have a capstan ("Ideal" brand) with a chain gypsy (wildcat) on the starboard side and a drum on the portside. We use 50 metres of chain and 70m of 15mm brait. The capstan sits on a horizontal (partial width) shelf inside the anchor locker with holes to allow the rode to drop into the bottom of the locker. The lids of the locker close neatly down over the capstan. See crude sketch attached.
This means the chain only makes a quarter turn before the chain stripper peels it off for the vertical drop. When lowering the anchor under freefall we must keep a foot on the gypsy to prevent the chain jumping off.
We must also regularly push over the 'castling' chain as we wind the rode in electrically.
If we use more than the 50m of chain (rare event) it is also tricky to swap from drum to gypsy when winding it in.
Other than that, it works great :-)
Rob
S.V. Wind Star
Rob & Margie Kyles: Auckland ,New Zealand
Mk I Hull #105 1983 Std Rig, Std Keel
Thanks I appreciate the response and the sketch! So if understand correctly you put a horizontal windlass on a shelf that you installed inside the locker?
Catalina 36 MK1
1984 Hull #306
Hi Mike
Well actually the plywood shelf and windlass were already installed when we bought the boat. I have since beefed it up with a few layers of fairly meaty left over bits of cloth and Epoxy.
As an aside, the motor has rusted horribly over the years, and I have completely swathed it in grease impregnated cloth and polythene tape after the last service. Next time it fails I will have a stock starter motor machined to fit the windlass. This is far cheaper than the proprietary Ideal replacement motor.
S.V. Wind Star
Rob & Margie Kyles: Auckland ,New Zealand
Mk I Hull #105 1983 Std Rig, Std Keel
Hello Mike,
On my '86 MK1 (same anchor well configuration), I installed a Maxwell VW 10 vertical just aft the locker. That model has the warping drum and the chain gypsy handles a rope/chain combination. The installation was relatively straightforward and did not require retrofitting the anchor locker. There is no chain pipe. The motor plus all the switchgear is below deck out of the weather and easy to service from the V-Berth. The location aft of the locker allows the gypsy to be lined up perfectly with the anchor roller and the warping drum can pull from any direction: both are advantages. Overall, the system works well and is a versatile combination. The warping drum doubles as a power winch at the bow which I have used to haul the jib up the headstay foil single handedly. The only downside is that the warping drum occasionally catches a jib sheet. When I get around to it, I plan to put a rigid plastic cover over the whole thing to keep that from happening and protect it from the weather.
Alternatively, you could put the windlass inside the locker and keep the upper deck clear. I considered that option, but opted to not complicate matters with shelves or water tight enclosures. I use the extra space saved in the locker to stow fenders when I sail offshore.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
John
Hi John,
I like it that the vertical mount like yours gives 180 degrees of grip on the rode. Does it allow free fall of the anchor, or do you have a reverse switch for the capstan to lower the anchor?
Possible downside for us would be we have an inner forestay which terminates on a hyfield lever fixed to the rear bulkhead of the anchor well. The vertical one might get in the way of this and vice versa...
S.V. Wind Star
Rob & Margie Kyles: Auckland ,New Zealand
Mk I Hull #105 1983 Std Rig, Std Keel
Hi Rob,
The 180 degree turn does give the rode plenty of grip. My current anchor rode has about 30 ft of 5/16" chain shackled to about 250 ft of 5/8" three strand nylon line. To lower, I just go forward and drop the anchor by hand. When the anchor contacts the bottom, I keep feeding it out by hand until I get to the nylon rode, then take a turn around the warping drum and cinch it up some to allow the anchor to start digging in. You could also use the chain gypsy with either chain or nylon rode to lower. The windlass has a clutch that allows you to control how fast the gypsy turns - anywhere from free fall to stopped. There is no down foot switch at the bow of my boat. Instead, I have a hand held remote with a down switch but I've never used it.
I plan to upgrade the rode to 75 ft of 5/16" chain spliced to say 325 ft of 5/8" nylon three strand. With that amount of chain, I can anchor most places and not have to deal with quite so much nylon rode. A long length of chain (or all chain) has the advantage of self feeding into the locker most of the entire length. That means you can be at the helm and motor up on the anchor in heavy weather using the hand held remote. Something I can't do very well now even with the autopilot. In spite of that, the windlass is somewhat oversized and doesn't have too much trouble pulling the boat up to the anchor in breezy weather.
The inner forestay on your boat would have to be moved for a vertical windlass. I also plan to add an inner forestay (really a solent stay). The tack, however, is a U bolt positioned forward of the well where the original aluminum anchor cleat used to be mounted. I also considered a bridle (like a split backstay) with anchor points port and starboard just aft the anchor well. The anchor points avoid the clearance problem with the windlass and allow the sail to fly further aft. I attached a photo of the bow of my boat for clarity; it doesn't show the windlass but you get the general layout.
Regards,
John
We have a similar setup, but with a manual windlass (Simpson Lawrence) The photo was taken during the survey.
Alex H.
SV Alexanne, 1985 #432 SR
SF Marina Bay YH
I have a 1987 and I added a Maxwell RC 800 Windlass in the Anchor well. Here are 3 pictures of my installation that I took during the install. I still have to have the box built and installed around the motor.
Ralph
Still a Thrill # 765
WK, STD Rig
Lake Texoma, TX
I did a write-up along with images on how to do this to a MK1, (assuming you do go the v-berth route)I believe it should be available in the technical section of the site.
Alex & Caitlin
S/V Windswept
Vancouver, BC
1985 C-36
SR/FK M25