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how necessary is a windlass
On Mon, 7 Mar 2011 08:50:36 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote: On Mar 7, 11:38*am, "Wilbur Hubbard" wrote: "Waldo" wrote in message b.com... "Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message tanews.com... "Frogwatch" wrote in message ... 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? If you find yourself actually needing an anchor windlass then it should tell you that what you really need is a smaller boat with smaller ground tackle. Or, you might need to examine your technique. If you can't brute force something perhaps you can finesse it - like using the displacement of your hull to break the anchor free or reducing the chain length or using the (heaven forbid) the auxiliary. Just a thought. Wilbur Hubbard A windlass is standard equipment on all serious boats, but as you say, a day sailor like yours can make do without one. 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? Waldo, the biggest part of the discussion here concerns aging sailors. There comes a time when we MUST recognize the limitations that age imposes upon us. In the case of ground tackle, the limitations are mostly due to a reduced capacity in the aged to handle heavy weights. Sure, a windlass can substitute but what happens when the windlass fails? Then the aged sailor is stuck with no viable options often in dangerous situations. Would it not be better to avoid danger than ask for it? Would it not be wise for aged sailors to consider downsizing? Is it not more gratifying to sail something one can still handle instead of being at the mercy of systems that often fail at the worst possible times? Just a thought. This bigger is better attitude is just plain stupid. Wilbur Hubbard My 28' S2 is a day sailer? Then how on earth did I manage to sail so much on overnight passages? Probably, unlike some, you just go ahead and do it..... not sit at home and talk about it :-) By the way, I met a bloke in Singapore that bought a Cornish Crabber and had it shipped from England to Singapore and then set out for Bangkok never having sailed a boat before. A year or so later I saw the boat in a marina near the mouth of the Chao Phaya river and asked the Harbor Master about it and he said the guy had sailed in one day, with his wife, about three months after he left Singapore. No electrics, no fridge, no anchor winch, no compass, no charts, no sextant. Just a guy and his wife and a one burner kero stove. Cheers, Bruce |
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