On Mon, 7 Mar 2011 11:38:52 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

Windlass = big electrical consumption = big motor with big alternator or =
big, stand-alone generator = big wiring = big battery bank = big weight =
big expense = big complications = big nuisance = big headache, etc. Is that
what sailing is supposed to be all about?


No - a windlass is not really a big electrical load, although it does
need significant current when actually operating.

My windlass (31 ft power boat) draws about 60 amps, and will run for
about three minutes to raise the anchor - that's only 3 ampere-hours.
Of course, the battery must be large enough to deliver 60 amps without
much voltage drop, but the 3 AH used will be a fairly small portion of
the total daily electrical use.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca