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Electric Windlass: How Important?
I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the
search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Ruskie wrote:
I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? We have a manual windlass and I can operate it with no problem. And I'm big g but not particularly strong or fit. We have a CSY 44 and almost always use all chain rode and an anchor that's about 55 lbs. The trick (as I'm sure other people will agree) is not to try to pull the boat with the windlass. Bob normally gets up and goes up on deck at takes the slack out of the rode, and then goes and gets a cup of tea. While he's doing that, the boat comes up closer to the anchor. Then he repeats until the boat is up to the anchor. If necessary (if there is a lot of wind or current), then we motor up to the anchor. We got a Sea Tiger second hand at Bacons in Annapolis. It didn't have a handle, so Bob made one. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
In article ,
Ruskie wrote: I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? Remember that you sometimes need/want to reset the anchor, and that will often be in a deep anchorage after a long day, you're tired, and it has to be done NOW. -- Jere Lull Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD) Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On 19 Jul 2006 19:48:02 -0500, Ruskie wrote:
Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. My recommendation is to get an electric windlass with good manual back up. The convenience (and safety) of electric is difficult to over estimate. I say safety because you will be less inclined to skimp on anchor weight and chain size if you have a good electric windlass, and ultimately there is no substitute for a good heavy anchor with lots of chain on it. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
I have a 33 foot boat with a 35 lb CQR and 300 feet of chain. I have no
problems with my manual windlass. I was also the captain of a 102 foot ketch with a 180 lb danforth and 600 feet of chain and we had a manual windlass (with lots of crew). It worked fine also. Gary Ruskie wrote: I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
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Electric Windlass: How Important?
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:06:49 +0000 (UTC), wrote:
I used to say that I didn't need an electric windlass. Then I bought a boat that has one. I LOVE this machine! I will never not have one. I agree. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On 20 Jul 2006 02:27:02 -0500, Vallie wrote:
poor, poor pitiful me, Yes. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Jere Lull wrote:
In article , Ruskie wrote: I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? Remember that you sometimes need/want to reset the anchor, and that will often be in a deep anchorage after a long day, you're tired, and it has to be done NOW. Perhaps we've been lucky, but we haven't had that happen yet (knock wood). We rarely anchor in deep anchorages, we don't generally do long days, and our anchor rarely needs to be reset. Less than 5 times in 6 years. Besides which, it IS a windlass and you don't have to pull the anchor up by hand. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
my my, how negative you are. must be a black cloud over your head
following you around. I'll bet it sucks the power right out of your batteries. And I wonder how long it will be before it starts to give you headaches. Will you still love it then? Will you love shelling out the cash to rebuild it? It runs when the engine runs. Besides, I have a big house bank of golf cart batteries. People say the same thing about their beloved autopilots and computer chart plotters. Have an a/p too. It's been several years with both devices and they work hummingly. After 3 decades of manual work I LOVE these machines. If they break I can do it myself, but until & unless I have no reason to be bleak or cynical. poor, poor pitiful me, it's amazing that I can get from point a to point b. You said it. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Gogarty wrote:
In article , says... On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:06:49 +0000 (UTC), wrote: I used to say that I didn't need an electric windlass. Then I bought a boat that has one. I LOVE this machine! I will never not have one. I agree. Likewise. My back is eternally grateful. Don't know where Rosalie anchors but we have had to reset several times in the same evening. With the elecxtric windlass it's a breeze. With no windlass it doesn't get done and with a manual it might get done once. We anchor in the Chesapeake, the ICW and Bahamas. These are mostly mud or sand with occasional rocky or scoured bottoms which we try to avoid by going to a marina. Usually the anchorages are shallow, unlike I understand that it is in New England, England or the NW US. I would wonder (not to be mean, but...) about your anchoring technique or your ability to pick a place to anchor if you have to reset several times in one evening. The only time I really remember that we had to reset the anchor was once in a scoured rock bottom in Florida Bay where we stopped for lunch and discovered a crab pot buoy blowing past us. We might have had to reset (but did not because the wind was not blowing hard) when we anchored where there was a lot of rock north of Rodriguez Key. I think we had to reset on initial anchoring in St. Augustine once, and in the Keys a couple of times in one day near Little Palm Island. In the latter instance, we tried a couple of places until finally a guy rowed over and told us where good holding was. In no instance were we pushed for time. We didn't have to rush. And if we were re-anchoring, Bob didn't have to actually pick the anchor up and stow it - he leaves it on a short chain. He doesn't have back problems just working the handle back and forth. It's hard for me to do that because I'm not as fit and my arms aren't as strong, but it's not a problem for my back either, and I DO have back problems. Usually Bob does the anchoring part and I do the steering part. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
I've had an electric windlass on my 38 footer the last five years and
it's been trouble free. Couldn't imagine cruising without one. Another advantage is that I use it to go aloft . . . especially since my wife no longer has the strength to winch me up. (no wisecracks!) |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
"Redsky" wrote:
I've had an electric windlass on my 38 footer the last five years and it's been trouble free. Couldn't imagine cruising without one. Another advantage is that I use it to go aloft . . . especially since my wife no longer has the strength to winch me up. (no wisecracks!) That is true for me too (not just now, but has been since we bought the boat), so Bob uses ascenders (climbing gear). We use the jib winches to which someone up who has gone overboard. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:37:47 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote: On 20 Jul 2006 02:27:02 -0500, Vallie wrote: poor, poor pitiful me, Yes. She or he has a point. People who use all the "stuff" never really become sailors. They may think they're sailors, but they would probably die or head for land if their engines, windlasses, chart plotters and other gadgets were taken away. They would choose another hobby because they are not really interested in sailing. They want to play, not work. Perfectly understandable. The art of maneuvering and anchoring must be reduced to the push of a button. It takes little or no skill to 'even circumnavigate' with that stuff. Not a flame, just a fact. And if someone who loves the ancient vanishing art is disgusted by the laziness of slovenly cruisers who like to discuss how best to anchor in coral and must have air conditioning and windscreen televisions, well, I can understand the feeling. I can also understand the response. It stings to be told that you're not a sailor. The response is almost always "F-you". They imagine themselves to be Caption Cook, when really they are more like Gilligan. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On 20 Jul 2006 18:22:01 -0500, Ruskie wrote:
I can also understand the response. It stings to be told that you're not a sailor. The response is almost always "F-you". They imagine themselves to be Caption Cook, when really they are more like Gilligan. Make that "Captain" Cook. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On 20 Jul 2006 18:22:01 -0500, Ruskie wrote:
The art of maneuvering and anchoring must be reduced to the push of a button. It takes little or no skill to 'even circumnavigate' with that stuff. With all due respect, that is utter BS. Any time you want to test your skills by pulling up my 120 lb anchor with 3/8 chain and a big glob of mud on it, be my guest. Do you have a row boat with a 12 lb Danforth and light nylon rode? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:36:19 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote: On 20 Jul 2006 18:22:01 -0500, Ruskie wrote: The art of maneuvering and anchoring must be reduced to the push of a button. It takes little or no skill to 'even circumnavigate' with that stuff. With all due respect, that is utter BS. Any time you want to test your skills by pulling up my 120 lb anchor with 3/8 chain and a big glob of mud on it, be my guest. Do you have a row boat with a 12 lb Danforth and light nylon rode? An unskilled cruising couple considers the electric windlass to be safety gear. And to them, it most certainly is. My elderly parents use an electric windlass. They need it. As does the person with no anchoring skills, who will also carry different types of anchors with massive amounts of heavy chain so that he/she may drop it anywhere at anytime. This allows him/her to let loose right on top of pristine coral heads without worrying about chafe. Or on top of the few remaining kelp forests, as another poster in this group proudly proclaimed just a few strings up. As a diver, I can tell you that anchor damage is an unmitigated disaster. But more to the point, the use of an electric windlass is one of the major contributing factors to the dumbing-down of cruising sailors world-wide Followed by the "autopilot". Still, if I had a bad back I would get an electric windlass, and I do have GPS. So I'm no purist. The point that Ruskie makes is that most cruising sailors are totally unskilled. And that is a FACT. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Hi Gary. Let's say you had 500' out, how long would it take
to wind that in? -- Scott Vernon Plowville Pa _/)__/)_/)_ "Gary" wrote in message news:I2Dvg.212879$Mn5.171196@pd7tw3no... I have a 33 foot boat with a 35 lb CQR and 300 feet of chain. I have no problems with my manual windlass. I was also the captain of a 102 foot ketch with a 180 lb danforth and 600 feet of chain and we had a manual windlass (with lots of crew). It worked fine also. Gary Ruskie wrote: I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant. Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong, I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size of boat. Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible. Any opinions? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Ruskie wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:37:47 -0400, Wayne.B wrote: On 20 Jul 2006 02:27:02 -0500, Vallie wrote: poor, poor pitiful me, Yes. She or he has a point. Not much of one. People who use all the "stuff" never really become sailors. But people who have sailed without the conveniences for 30 years have certainly earned the right to use them. I'm a bit offended by people who use a chartplotter but don't know how to read a chart. On the other hand, it seems like the number of groundings I see in the harbor has gone down a lot since GPS. They may think they're sailors, but they would probably die or head for land if their engines, windlasses, chart plotters and other gadgets were taken away. They would choose another hobby because they are not really interested in sailing. They want to play, not work. Perfectly understandable. The art of maneuvering and anchoring must be reduced to the push of a button. So they're not sailors if they don't live up to your standards? It takes little or no skill to 'even circumnavigate' with that stuff. If you think that, then you're certainly not a sailor! Not a flame, just a fact. The fact is, its a flame. And if someone who loves the ancient vanishing art is disgusted by the laziness of slovenly cruisers who like to discuss how best to anchor in coral and must have air conditioning and windscreen televisions, well, I can understand the feeling. I can sort of agree, but unless you sail a wooden boat with flaxen sails, hemp lines, and a rock killick you really can't criticize which conveniences somebody picks. I'm certainly old enough to remember when lots of people claimed that real sailor would never sail a fiberglass boat. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
In article ,
says... Gogarty wrote: In article , says... On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:06:49 +0000 (UTC), wrote: I used to say that I didn't need an electric windlass. Then I bought a boat that has one. I LOVE this machine! I will never not have one. I agree. Likewise. My back is eternally grateful. Don't know where Rosalie anchors but we have had to reset several times in the same evening. With the elecxtric windlass it's a breeze. With no windlass it doesn't get done and with a manual it might get done once. We anchor in the Chesapeake, the ICW and Bahamas. These are mostly mud or sand with occasional rocky or scoured bottoms which we try to avoid by going to a marina. Usually the anchorages are shallow, unlike I understand that it is in New England, England or the NW US. I would wonder (not to be mean, but...) about your anchoring technique or your ability to pick a place to anchor if you have to reset several times in one evening. The only time I really remember that we had to reset the anchor was once in a scoured rock bottom in Florida Bay where we stopped for lunch and discovered a crab pot buoy blowing past us. We might have had to reset (but did not because the wind was not blowing hard) when we anchored where there was a lot of rock north of Rodriguez Key. I think we had to reset on initial anchoring in St. Augustine once, and in the Keys a couple of times in one day near Little Palm Island. In the latter instance, we tried a couple of places until finally a guy rowed over and told us where good holding was. In no instance were we pushed for time. We didn't have to rush. And if we were re-anchoring, Bob didn't have to actually pick the anchor up and stow it - he leaves it on a short chain. He doesn't have back problems just working the handle back and forth. It's hard for me to do that because I'm not as fit and my arms aren't as strong, but it's not a problem for my back either, and I DO have back problems. Usually Bob does the anchoring part and I do the steering part. In the NW, my anchor resetting experiences have occurred most often when the bottom was covered with thick eelgrass. The smallish Danforth on the charter boat just didn't want to hold when the wind changed. I've also had to reset in aan anchorage when the tide dropped about 15 feet and a large rock became uncomfortably visible off the stern. It wasn't visible in 25 feet of water, but showed up nicely in 10 feet of water. Mark Borgerson |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
It takes little or no skill to 'even circumnavigate' with that stuff. If you think that, then you're certainly not a sailor! Do an internet search and you'll find a gaziilion couples who have sailed around the world as a life-long ambition. Many of them had never been on a cruising boat prior to their big, three-year adventure. Then they create websites relaying their daring achievements to the folks back home, and dispensing advice. Many of these trips amount to nothing but three-year shake-down cruises, afterwhich they no longer want their boats, and declare them to be for sale. Look at the photos. There they are playing card below while the boat runs on autopilot. Don't worry - the C.A.R.D. system will keep everyone safe - and the beer - it's all nice and cold. And if they have to anchor, boing...plonk. No problemo! Worried about the weather? Well;;, here comes another weatherfax, so who needs that barometer thingy. Need to poop? Don'y worry, cuz we got the latest vacuum flusher and special TP too! Want to watch a movie or cool off? Just flip on that generator, bro. In addition, although their names escape me, there have been a number of inexperienced sailors who have circumnavigated. Modern technology makes it possible for anyone to do it. In fact, right now there are a group of blind sailors doing it. That's right - blind. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
She or he has a point. People who use all the "stuff" never really
become sailors. They may think they're sailors, but they would Sorry Russkie, that is crap. I know where you are coming from but you ignore the possibility that maybe we are people who have been sailing/boating all our lives and now prefer to have machines do more of the work for us. I don't consider hauling 100ft of chain road up by hand to be "sailing". My first trip with this boat was delivering it back home a few days before Xmas. Was about 30-ish degs during the day and a 2 day trip. I was alone, all my friends had bugged out. Came into a cove for shelter from a stiff NW wind just as the sun was disappearing. with "auto" steering slow ahead I went fwd and prepped the anchor (45lb Danforth plow). Back in the cockpit I put the engine n neutral and pushed a button on the windlass remote. It was so sweet seeing those yards of chain roll out. I let enough out for 2:1 and reversed the prop to snug it in, then let a full 120 ft out. During the night I do not know how cold it got outside. But inside I could hear the wind and even with my 12000btu propane heater the cabin was 37 degs in the morning. Once up I bundled in many layers of clothing, started the engine, and want fwd. Again I held the remote and pushed a button. It was such pleasure to watch foot after foot of chain rode come up out of the frigid water, across the bow roller, through the windlass and on down inside. When the anchor came up I released the button, pulled the last foot or so and secured the anchor. Then I went back to the cockpit, put the engine in forward, spun the wheel and resumed my winter trip. Did I miss out on something by not doing that by hand? Don't make me laugh. I don't need a radar where I sail, but having one is real nice. Now that I do have one (came with the windlass) I will want one on my next boat. I learned to sail, and did, for over 3 decades plotting manually. Still can. But I enjoy having my GPS map do it for me. Life is getting shorter and I prefer to enjoy it rather than doing things I can have machines do for me. Btw, there were always clueless "sailors". Even back in the lash-the-sticks-together age of primitive rafting. I'm sure people said the same things as you when the first engines were put into sailing yachts. But unless your name is Pardey I doubt even you would be w/o one. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
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Electric Windlass: How Important?
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Electric Windlass: How Important?
I thought the one thing we all agreed upon here is that nobody criticizes
anyone else's boat handling because no matter how skilled and experienced you are sooner or later you will end up in the same embarrasssing not to say dangerous situation as the clunkiest among us. This does not apply to motor boaters. So your anchor always sets and you almost never have to reset? Great. Try a bottom covered with tree branches or other fouling. Or soupy mud. Or being downwind of a raft that has broken loose. Or...or...or... And don't criticize ny anchoring technique when you don't know under what conditions I am operating or with what equipment. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On 20 Jul 2006 23:50:01 -0500, Jack wrote:
Too bad the prices never come down. I'de like to scoop one of those up! Ahhh, now I understand the bad attitude. Poor Jack never made enough money to afford a decent boat for himself. Therefore anyone who can afford one does not meet his high standards for seamanship. So how much wine can you make with those sour grapes Jackie boy? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Gogarty wrote:
I thought the one thing we all agreed upon here is that nobody criticizes anyone else's boat handling because no matter how skilled and experienced you are sooner or later you will end up in the same embarrasssing not to say dangerous situation as the clunkiest among us. This does not apply to motor boaters. Who agreed on that? And why, if we are agreed, do people say that an electric windlass is absolutely required and anyone who does not want one must be some kind of idiot? So your anchor always sets and you almost never have to reset? Great. Try a bottom covered with tree branches or other fouling. Or soupy mud. Or being downwind of a raft that has broken loose. Or...or...or... And don't criticize ny anchoring technique when you don't know under what conditions I am operating or with what equipment. I am assuming (although we know about that) that you are referring to me. I was tentative about offering any criticism because I wasn't very comfortable with doing it, but it does seem to me that if someone OFTEN has to reset an anchor so that an electric windlass would be an absolute necessity, that it might be a good idea to check up on your anchoring techniques, or your pick of an anchorage or your equipment so that you don't have to do it so often. Even with an electric windlass it would be a PITA to do it OFTEN. When we have a problem, we usually try to figure out what we did wrong, so that we can avoid doing it again. And in no case has the lack of an electric windlass been a problem. Even when one has back problems, the amount of leverage provided by the windlass handle is such that no hard effort is required, and it isn't a back issue. Plus, I don't think that being downwind of a raft that has broken loose happens very often. Now that I think about it, I remember more times that we have had to reset than I did originally. They didn't turn up in my memory because they were really non-events compared to all the times that the anchor held beautifully without resetting even in fairly violent stormy conditions. For instance when we turned into Mile Hammock Bay, an artificial dredged anchorage (on Marine Corps property - Camp Lejeune NC) at 2:30 pm in the rain in November 2000, there were 3 other boats already there . Bob decided to anchor on the inner edge of the dredged area away from the other boats. We had difficulty because we would start out in 10 feet of water and as he let out the anchor chain, we would be blown out onto the shallow part and end up in 5 feet of water. Bob reset the anchor once, and then just decided to put out less scope. Eight other boats came into the anchorage later, including a trawler who appeared to have anchored on top of our anchor. But the trawler left very early so we didn't have to decide what to do about that. We didn't anchor in that anchorage again because we figured our mileage so that we didn't have to - mostly because the entrance to the anchorage was a bit shallow, and Bob hates going aground but also because there was a cheap marina in Swansboro which we stayed at on subsequent trips. (Although on the last trip in the spring of 2004 the docks appeared quite deteriorated so I don't know if we would go there again.) |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
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Electric Windlass: How Important?
"Jack" wrote in message Look at the photos. There they are playing card below while the boat runs on autopilot. Don't worry - the C.A.R.D. system will keep everyone safe - and the beer - it's all nice and cold. And if they have to anchor, boing...plonk. No problemo! Worried about the weather? Well;;, here comes another weatherfax, so who needs that barometer thingy. Need to poop? Don'y worry, cuz we got the latest vacuum flusher and special TP too! Want to watch a movie or cool off? Just flip on that generator, bro. That sounds nice! |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
Gogarty wrote:
In article , says... snip Now that I think about it, I remember more times that we have had to reset than I did originally. They didn't turn up in my memory because they were really non-events compared to all the times that the anchor held beautifully without resetting even in fairly violent stormy conditions. For instance when we turned into Mile Hammock Bay, an artificial dredged anchorage (on Marine Corps property - Camp Lejeune NC) at 2:30 pm in the rain in November 2000, there were 3 other boats already there . Bob decided to anchor on the inner edge of the dredged area away from the other boats. We had difficulty because we would start out in 10 feet of water and as he let out the anchor chain, we would be blown out onto the shallow part and end up in 5 feet of water. Bob reset the anchor once, and then just decided to put out less scope. Eight other boats came into the anchorage later, including a trawler who appeared to have anchored on top of our anchor. But the trawler left very early so we didn't have to decide what to do about that. We didn't anchor in that anchorage again because we figured our mileage so that we didn't have to - mostly because the entrance to the anchorage was a bit shallow, and Bob hates going aground but also because there was a cheap marina in Swansboro which we stayed at on subsequent trips. (Although on the last trip in the spring of 2004 the docks appeared quite deteriorated so I don't know if we would go there again.) There! See? My point is that we evaluated the anchorage and decided we didn't need to go there again. What would be foolish is if we went back again and again and had the same trouble all over again each time. You don't want an electric windlass? Fine. But don't make others out to be somewhat less than pure if they desire to have one. Best umpteen bucks I ever spent. And I looked at manual ones. Never looked back. I didn't try to make someone out as less than pure - I think that was someone else. We have a manual windlass (and we have NEVER considered being WITHOUT a windlass) because we felt that the problems that would come with an additional battery for it, or additional battery cables to charge the battery or to get electric power to the windlass from the battery were more than we wanted to deal with. Bob didn't want to run long stretches of big electrical wire through the boat. And it isn't because he didn't know HOW to do it, because he converted an Escort station wagon to run on batteries and drove it to work for the last 6 years before he retired. So he COULD have done it - he just decided that he didn't want to. We chartered a boat like ours and it had an electric windlass, which he had a chance to use. Our boat came with an electric windlass, but it was inoperative. We had to chisel it off the bow where it was rusted in place before we could put the manual one on there. BTW most of the wiring on the boat had to be replaced with better quality and more heavy duty wiring. Perhaps someone can explain to me how it is that every dinky power boat has a windlass but on sailboats as large as 45 ft and even larger a windlass is not standard equipment? Our 37 footer and an Endeavour 40 belonging to a friend aren't even windlass friendly when it comes to adding one. They just were not designed for after-market windlasses. Most power boats don't have anything like an adequate anchor rode IMHO and many of them don't have a windlass. I've seen what my SIL thinks is adequate for his boat. And he had to install it because the boat did not come with a windlass. A lot of them don't even have a way to anchor or at least they don't use an anchor if they have it - they seem content to sit and fish, just drifting around. Our friends with a trawler have a set-up where he can't even see the anchor from the helm and he has to yell at his wife when to let it go. It is electric though. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:10:58 -0400, Gogarty
wrote: Perhaps someone can explain to me how it is that every dinky power boat has a windlass but on sailboats as large as 45 ft and even larger a windlass is not standard equipment? Our 37 footer and an Endeavour 40 belonging to a friend aren't even windlass friendly when it comes to adding one. They just were not designed for after-market windlasses. There are probably several different reasons, starting with performance. Sailboat bows are narrow with a fine entry for reasons of sailing efficiency. That also makes them sensitive to increased weight on the bow, and an anchor windlass with its wiring and/or battery will not help performance at all. Electrical power is another issue. Most power boats have plenty of battery capacity and frequently have generators available to assist with recharging. It's also a fact that power boats require heavier anchors because of wider beam, more weight and higher windage. I used to anchor a 34 ft sailboat quite securely with a 20 lb Danforth but my old 33 ft sportfish needed a 44 lb Spade to be securely anchored in comparable conditions. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
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Electric Windlass: How Important?
Gogarty wrote:
In article , says... Our friends with a trawler have a set-up where he can't even see the anchor from the helm and he has to yell at his wife when to let it go. It is electric though. My wife does not like being yelled at. So we got a pair of those dinkly little walky-talkies that have about a half mile range. Motorola. Really cool. More than being yelled at, I hate yelling at him and having to repeat everything. We are both a little deaf, so we use hand signals. (middle fingers not included although sometimes when the hand signals get more vigorous I know he is yelling). Walkie talkies do not work for either of us. |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
"Gogarty" wrote in message ... In article , says... Our friends with a trawler have a set-up where he can't even see the anchor from the helm and he has to yell at his wife when to let it go. It is electric though. My wife does not like being yelled at. So we got a pair of those dinkly little walky-talkies that have about a half mile range. Motorola. Really cool. Are they hands free? |
Electric Windlass: How Important?
I have a very crappy pair... I think they cost all of $10. They're
hands-free. -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com "Scotty" wrote in message . .. "Gogarty" wrote in message ... In article , says... Our friends with a trawler have a set-up where he can't even see the anchor from the helm and he has to yell at his wife when to let it go. It is electric though. My wife does not like being yelled at. So we got a pair of those dinkly little walky-talkies that have about a half mile range. Motorola. Really cool. Are they hands free? |
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