So many zombie apocalypse films so little time, an apt reaction, and in the “How do warehouse prisons and a $55 Billion Crematorium Network connect?” department…
I just had an irksome article on the need to have a powered windlass pop up in my RSS feed. As a result, it left me somewhat perturbed. Then again, my standard advice to someone considering an electric windlass is “wouldn’t a smaller boat be better”?
If your ground tackle is too heavy for you to manage, some might say it’s just nature’s way of saying you need a smaller boat.
The opposing argument is that bigger ground tackle is safer and justifies a powered windlass because, you know, safety. Personally, I find the thought of depending on any single system with no backup anything but safe and, I’ll be honest, scary.
Over the years I’ve sold, repaired, and witnessed many, many electric windlass failures. Face it, if it’s on a boat and it’s electric, it’s going to fail at some point in time. A marine consignment store I used to work at had a whole shelf of burned out windlass motors to prove the point. And, if that was not enough, we had milk crates full of dead windlass switches and solenoids to demonstrate the fact.
Which is not saying you don’t need a windlass. A good manual windlass makes a lot of sense and allows you to have heavier ground tackle. Even better, it’s a good workout. Granted there is an upper limit to just how much ground tackle you can manage with a manual windlass, but that’s where the “if you can’t manage with a manual windlass it’s time to get a smaller boat” becomes the safe and sensible option.
Has no one ever devised something to put around the drum of a “normal” sheet winch?
I remember trying to anchor off Basse Terre, lobbed the anchor and chain over, but too deep water. Thats when you realise lifting 200lbs of deadweight hand over fist, even as a young fella, was pretty ball breaking, especially with no chain stopper.
I used to use a bit of stainless angle with a 10mm slot cut out which I used to park the chain between pulls. Another method is to use a line with a chain hook on either end that goes to a winch and that works finestkind.
Yeah, chain hook on a sheet would have worked, even if only 20ft at a time. I made a Nick Skeates type manual winch with a long handle and 2 chain stoppers on one of my boats, cheap, simple and utterly reliable.