Anchor windlass

[jerridsc]

My back wants me to get an anchor windlass for my A25. I’d like to hear from some who have done this as to brand, size, rode lengths and type of rode (all chain, chain & rope etc.) your decisions on anchor type would also be interesting to hear. Would an A25 anchor locker with the mid-panel removed provide enough drop for a vertical windlass?

Respectfully,
jerridsc

[DesertAlbin736]

My back wants me to get an anchor windlass for my A25.

I hear you there. Someday maybe. We're not quite the young whippersnappers we used to be.

For now I've spent enough on our boat, over $4,500 just this year on various projects including labor for painting topside & bottom plus weld repairs on the trailer, and that's not counting expenses related to this year's PNW cruise. For the time being am resigned to pulling the anchor in by hand. We at least have a manual sheet winch mounted up front that can be used for hauling in the rope portion of the rode until it gets to the last 26 feet of chain. Removing the anchor locker mid panel certainly would provide enough depth for rode & chain to drop without piling up & jamming the windlass. In fact, at the moment the front trim bulkhead separating the anchor locker from the rest of the cabin of our boat is out while I work on fixing a fresh water tank leak. The only way to get the tank out was to remove that panel, which of course you'd also have to do to remove that mid panel piece. Which also means you'd have to remove the side shelves to get that bulkhead piece out. I'm toying with the idea of putting a vertical fore & aft panel in to split the anchor locker space into two separate side by side compartments. There are already two hawse pipe openings in the deck that would allow having my secondary Danforth style anchor rigged up front.

But anyway, here are pictures of two of the boats we saw with windlasses at this year's Albineers of BC July rendezvous in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island "Var Bat" and "Transition". Both have Lewmar horizontal windlasses. I'd probably want to do something like this, but besides through bolts our bowsprit is cemented down with 5200 adhesive & would have to take a "Saws-All" to it to remove or change.

In this picture you can barely see a bit of La Dolce Vita at far right, 3rd boat behind Var Bat.

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[dkirsop]

I have an Anchor Lift, Barracuda 900 low profile windlass on my A25. I use a combination of 100' - 1/4" HT Chain and 200' - 1/2" nylon rode. The gypsy accommodates both the chain and the rode. It all drops into a water tight box located immediately forward of the foremost bulkhead. The box is fitted with a 1/2" drain that discharges overboard. I use an 8kg bruce anchor set in a self launching bow roller. I have the bow roller set at a slight angle to avoid having to move the water fill at the bow. Both the windlass and the bow roller sit on 1" high spacers so the chain clears the rub rail and stays vertically aligned with the gypsy.

You have to take care in ensuring the hole through which the chain/rode drops through to the chain locker is well aligned, smoothly finished and large enough to allow the rope to drop through smoothly. My chain locker box is open at the top and accessed through the foremost bulkhead.

If you do decide to go this route I can post pictures of my set up. Here are a couple of general pictures.

Bow.jpg

Port Bow.jpg

[DesertAlbin736]

Sea Quill is one great looking boat! Makes our La Dolce Vita look like a shabby garbage scow in comparison even though they're the same model year only 277 hull numbers apart. But we're getting there. I need to look into the kind of radar reflector that Dave has instead of stringing up the battered flimsy foil covered el cheapo cardboard POS that I have left over from 17 years ago. Don't see radar in my immediate future, but we do have a chartplotter linked to the AIS receiver built into the VHF, so at least we can see the big stuff coming. 8 kg/18 lb Bruce on 100 ft of 1/4" chain plus 200 ft of three strand rode is a good combo. We have 10kg/22lb Bruce (genuine Belgian made, not a knockoff claw) w/26 ft of what I believe is 3/8" G8 chain + 1/2 inch rode that adds up to 300 ft total. Anchor windlass is pretty far down the list right now. We'll forever treasure & never forget the Kirsop's hospitality in giving us lifts around the island & hosting the salmon cookout on their patio in 2018. Only regret is that we didn't get to do any actual cruising with them, although it was great to see them again and meet the rest of the BC Albineer gang at Ladysmith this year. Hopefully next year it's on to the Rideau, Ottowa, Montreal, & the Richelieu in Ontario & Quebec.