On Sun, 6 Mar 2011 19:52:41 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

OK, I have not hauled my anchor in the last 6 months but then it was
not too hard (28' 8000lb boat). Am I missing something? Does hauling
the anchor (slowly) get that much harder as one gets older (I am 55).
Generally, I haul her in slowly allowing the boats momentum to do most
of the work until the rode is vertical. That is when it requires a
bit of pull. I also use 1/2" nylon rode with 30' of chain so I am not
hauling all chain.
Does it get that much harder with a larger boat?
In place of a windlass, why not mount an old manual winch on the bow
and use it to help haul it in?

Somewhere around 35 to 40 ft of boat length the weight of a proper
cruising anchor and chain gets to be heavier than most people want to
deal with. Serious cruising boats in that size range will typically
have a 40 to 50 lb anchor and a mostly chain rode. Ideally the
windlass will be able to handle both chain and rope but at the very
least, chain.