"Bruce in Bangkok" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:58:48 +1300, "Bert van den Berg"
wrote:

As far as manual windlasses are concerned..... yesterday I watched (and
heard) a manual windlass in action. The conditions were perfect, hardly
any wind but it took the poor fellow almost ten minutes to bring up his
anchor. The sailboat was around 35 feet long and the depth was also about
35 feet.

In my opinion an electric windlass is as much a safety feature as well as a
great convenience. If the weather had suddenly turned or the boat was
dragging anchor or someone else was dragging anchor and about to collide
with the 35 footer above I think the poor guy above would have been hurting.

With an electric windlass you don't really have to think twice about
re-anchoring elsewhere or dropping anchor at one spot only for a bit of a
dive or other temporary activity. With a manual windlass (or none) you
would think twice about doing same.

My two cents worth...

Bert
S/V Guinevere


I surely agree. A year or so ago my wife and I set off for a little
vacation and decided to make a trip to Langkawi, Malaysia. We usually
stop several nights on the way and just laze along and the first night
we anchored at Phi Phi Island. The next morning the winch is dead :-(

Well, 10 Mtrs of water and 3/8" inch chain. I can do it! so hauled the
anchor by hand and set off for our next stop. And so it went for three
days...... But I can tell you I really, really, looked for shallow
water :-)

Perhaps you should consider that 3/8" chain is overkill. Duh! Hell,
you could lift your sailboat off the ground with 3/8" chain and the
MOST force you'd ever put on in even in a typhoon would be about
a thousand pounds. The wind just doesn't produce that much force
upon a battened-own sailboat.

You, sir, are no sailor!

--
Sir Gregory

--
Sir Gregory