Windless Winch

[Raymond Ellerton]

hi Guys need some expert addvise 

I have a 17ft Mayland cabin cruiser i want to fit a windless anchor winch. What size anchor do i need and what size rope chain and winch . And where can i find all ???

[plaicemat]

Do you need a windlass on a 17ft boat? I would have thought an alderney ring set up would be sufficient.

[Raymond Ellerton]

Just looking for advise is that a 12v electric

[Tarlach.]

An Alderney ring set up is not an electrical device it’s a method of retrieving an anchor without having to haul it up by hand.
I use this method on a 20ft boat and it’s a piece of cake to do once you have practised in shallow water a few times!!
There are plenty of videos on YouTube that explain it simply.
I would think a 12v windlass was overkill on a boat of your size !


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[Maverick Martin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=126&v=-7v8uiDWFnE

[Rob]

Plus a winch takes an awful lot of current so you need to ensure you have a decent alternator to charge up the leisure / second battery after use (assuming you have 2 batteries).

Plus, you need a good deep anchor store for the rode and chain to fall in to on retrieval.

Plus are you planning to lower manually and free spool (which means someone on the bow or wait for it to lower via the winch).

Plenty to think about, Alderney ring and a 5kg anchor might be easier and is what most of us raise with the Alderney ring.

A number of the 30ft boats (and Mike / Carol on 40+ft Yacht) use this technique.

Also, costs about £12!

R

[great white]

Hi Ray

 

Using a winch to lift an anchor sounds like a great idea [It is on bigger boats with very heavy kit] but as others have said it may not be required on a 17 footer.

 

The one on the bow of alfresco works fine but because of limited drop the anchor rope does not stow without help so it is a two man job.

 

Lifting with an Alderney ring has been the way we have lifted the anchor on my last three boats [17ft, 23ft and 30ft]

with practise it is easy to do, even single handed.

 

 

 

Ignoring that and back to the original question.

Several choices of windlass and lots of makes are available all at 12 volts the same as your outboard battery. 

If you only use them with the engine running, it will not flatten the battery too much.

But you are picking an expensive option, as you would also need to fit wiring, circuit breaker and calibrate the chain to the windlass gypsy.

 

If you would like to talk this through with a local supplier talk to Pete at Quay West chandlers Poole.

If you get as far as going down to see him, his chandlers is in the boatyard at Parkstone Yacht Club.

I manage the boatyard and Marina there, so if you fancy a chat over a coffee let me know. Alfresco is in the Marina so I could show you my set up if it helps.

 

Charlie

 

 

[Raymond Ellerton]

Hi Ray

 

Using a winch to lift an anchor sounds like a great idea [It is on bigger boats with very heavy kit] but as others have said it may not be required on a 17 footer.

 

The one on the bow of alfresco works fine but because of limited drop the anchor rope does not stow without help so it is a two man job.

 

Lifting with an Alderney ring has been the way we have lifted the anchor on my last three boats [17ft, 23ft and 30ft]

with practise it is easy to do, even single handed.

 

 

 

Ignoring that and back to the original question.

Several choices of windlass and lots of makes are available all at 12 volts the same as your outboard battery. 

If you only use them with the engine running, it will not flatten the battery too much.

But you are picking an expensive option, as you would also need to fit wiring, circuit breaker and calibrate the chain to the windlass gypsy.

 

If you would like to talk this through with a local supplier talk to Pete at Quay West chandlers Poole.

If you get as far as going down to see him, his chandlers is in the boatyard at Parkstone Yacht Club.

I manage the boatyard and Marina there, so if you fancy a chat over a coffee let me know. Alfresco is in the Marina so I could show you my set up if it helps.

 

Charlie

Thanks Charlie

I will be home from work 12.12.17 so will have a lot of spare time Then . I was just thinking i don,t Like the thought of climbing to the front of the boat trying to pull up the anchor when the weather dose a turn for the worst and i am out there alone. And then again i plan to have a much bigger Boat next year .(When i have a bit more experience)  So no point in spending to much on this one.

[Mike Fox]

There's no need to climb on the front of the boat with the Alderney Ring.

You have your anchor warp attached there, yes.

However, by means of a separate short rope (a lazy line) that goes round the anchor warp in a loop, you can actually retrieve the anchor amidships from the cockpit, and stow it in a bin etc.

 

Raymond, you really need to talk with Charlie, he really does know his stuff.

As well as that, why not pop out as crew with a few members to see how they do it.

 

Mike

[Raymond Ellerton]

There's no need to climb on the front of the boat with the Alderney Ring.

You have your anchor warp attached there, yes.

However, by means of a separate short rope (a lazy line) that goes round the anchor warp in a loop, you can actually retrieve the anchor amidships from the cockpit, and stow it in a bin etc.

 

Raymond, you really need to talk with Charlie, he really does know his stuff.

As well as that, why not pop out as crew with a few members to see how they do it.

 

Mike outboards on the 7th 

Would love to Mike . Its just getting free time .My work load is very heavy but have nice break from 12.12.17 to 8th Jan  got a coarse with the RYA service

[Rob]

I wonder if RYA cover the Alderney ring technique, I am guessing not, anyone know?

R

[Raymond Ellerton]

Would love to Mike . Its just getting free time .My work load is very heavy but have nice break from 12.12.17 to 8th Jan  got a coarse with the RYA service

LOL text is not all here The coarse is service outboard engines 

[great white]

I wonder if RYA cover the Alderney ring technique, I am guessing not, anyone know?

R

Not on the powerboat syllabus Rob

 

But lots of us members volunteer to teach this to new Members every year.

[Rob]

Appreciate that Charlie, I just wondered if it was an RYA approved technique.

[great white]

Cannot answer that one Rob

 

But powerboat courses tend to be about safe passages and handling the boat. anchoring tends to be done in the shallows, if practised at all and not just discussed in Theory.

 

They are not too bothered with teaching how to accurately anchor and recover the anchor in front of structure and wrecks.

[Coddy]

Cannot answer that one Rob

 

But powerboat courses tend to be about safe passages and handling the boat. anchoring tends to be done in the shallows, if practised at all and not just discussed in Theory.

 

They are not too bothered with teaching how to accurately anchor and recover the anchor in front of structure and wrecks.

 

Sounds like an after meeting chat about anchoring for fishing is required again. :)

[Raymond Ellerton]

Hi Guys as advised i have opted for the Alderney ring system . I got a Buoy New anchor and chain sent for a ring and clip. When it arrived the tether rope from the ring to the Buoy clip is 3 meters long I was expecting it to be around 600mDo i cut it and re tie a knot to the buoy ?

[Rob]

I use the ring > carabiner> buoy and so do a few people - so the length between buoy and ring is 15cms max!

[Raymond Ellerton]

Thanks Rob  I knew it was to long i will cut the tether down. Cant wait to try it out Hope to get the boat in the water Friday.

[Kingfisher 126]

If the rope is too long it gets caught around your bow at times and if not careful can make the anchor rope go under the boat, not good.

As Rob says shorter the rope the better.

Always best to see how someone does it to be on the safe side.

[Maverick Martin]

Also if the rope is too long the buoy smacks your boat.  I would say you need no more than 30cm in fact on smaller boats I actually had no line, just the buoy and alderney ring

Martin