Anchor winch problem

[Allan M]

I have recently stripped the teak off my deck, fitted a new layer of ply and glassed over and am now looking to upgrade my anchor winch. My existing winch is a simple vertical capstan with 800W motor (Nilsson M80 I think). My anchor retrieval process is to stand facing aft (with my left foot on the foot switch) and take 3 anti clockwise turns of the rope/chain rode around the capstan. I hit the switch and manually feed the rode down into the chain locker between my legs keeping tension on the rode to avoid slippage. Note that the capstan rotates anti clockwise to retrieve the rode. Therein lies the first problem. all of the modern winches seem to be set up to rotate clockwise. I am left handed (although semi ambidextrous!) and it is easier for me to control the rode off the capstan with my left hand. The second issue is that the modern winches all seem to be designed to drop the rode vertically through the deck which I am unable to do because the winch position is above the forward berth and aft of the chain locker. So... I need a winch (either vertical or horizontal) with a capstan and a chain gypsy that will allow me to manually lead the rode forward after it comes off the gypsy. If vertical it should be anti clockwise rotating for retrieval. Yacht stats are length 11.3m (37 ft) 9 tons approx. Rode/anchor weight 150kg approx, (rode is 10mm chain/16mm 8 plait rope). Any suggestions for a solution most welcome!

[sailormed]

The anti-clockwise problem is easily solved by wiring the other way.. The motor is 12V DC and turns both ways with the same power output.

[Allan M]

If only it were that simple!! You are correct about the electrics, and in fact most new winches of a spec. to suit my yacht have 'forward and reverse' for setting and retrieving the anchor. The problem is more to do with the mechanical set up of most new vertical capstan winches where the rode cannot be fed onto the gypsy from the other side and retrieved in an anti clockwise direction and be fed back manually above the deck into the chain locker.

[NevilleCat]

Man that sounds like a messy, risky business you are trying to replicate?
I have to assume that you can't actually move a winch to the correct place over your anchor well and have a rope-chain gypsy feeding safely it into the well so you don't have to even be on the foredeck in a bad situation?

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by sailormed

The anti-clockwise problem is easily solved by wiring the other way.. The motor is 12V DC and turns both ways with the same power output.

No, not so easily solved…

No well designed windlass runs backward with full motor torque. The system is designed with a ratchet that allows the motor to exert torque in forward, and in reverse there is a ratchet that allows the drum to turn in reverse from the weight of the falling chain as the motor turns.

Imagine the disaster that would occur if you had a simple hockle of chain clog the chain pipe with the motor pulling chain out as hard as it can! In any well designed windlass in this case the motor would turn, but the ratchet would spin and you will hear “click, click, click” and nothing happens.

Any windlass that DOES pull chain out of a chain locker with full motor torque is a serious accident waiting to happen!

If you have a capstan for handling rope, THAT can be locked to motor rotation, but not a chain gypsy should not be.

[Putt-Putt]

Maxwell Marine offers mirror image vertical windlasses for those who just have to have 2 completely separate anchoring systems. Effectively these would be Port and Starboard windlasses and as a result when operating they turn in opposite directions. I'm not sure if this extends to the VW 2500 size, but I have seen it in the VWC 3500 size which if you are using 10mm chain is in my mind the right size. I don't think the chainwheels offered in this series of windlasses accept both chain and rope, so you would need to switch to/from the capstan.

Neither of these windlasses have a ratchet system that somehow protects the equipment and operator in the case of the chain/rope jamming somewhere. What they do have is a set of cone clutches that allows the operator too easily set the amount of pulling force applied by the chainwheel or capstan. They can also freewheel.

Having just rebuilt my 27 year old VWC 3500's gearbox, I found Maxwell to be very helpful (albeit expensive) for parts. Overall, they seem well designed and constructed.

[Bowdrie]

This thread from ~4 years ago might help you.
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...-195887-4.html
Ideal windlasses are still being made, they were bought by Schafer, (the block people,) and virtually every part from any Ideal windlass ever produced is still available.
Caveat, everything is "heart in throat" expensive.

[Jammer]

Bow roller, windlass, hawsepipe, and chain locker changes are complex and fiddly to make. Therefore, not knowing your boat, it is with due humility that I suggest that you might want to at least consider changing your setup into something more conventional.


Or overhaul what you have, since it works for you.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by ItDepends

No, not so easily solved…

No well designed windlass runs backward with full motor torque. The system is designed with a ratchet that allows the motor to exert torque in forward, and in reverse there is a ratchet that allows the drum to turn in reverse from the weight of the falling chain as the motor turns.

Imagine the disaster that would occur if you had a simple hockle of chain clog the chain pipe with the motor pulling chain out as hard as it can! In any well designed windlass in this case the motor would turn, but the ratchet would spin and you will hear “click, click, click” and nothing happens.

Any windlass that DOES pull chain out of a chain locker with full motor torque is a serious accident waiting to happen!

If you have a capstan for handling rope, THAT can be locked to motor rotation, but not a chain gypsy should not be.

My Maxwell vwc1200 and vwc1500 windlasses do indeed power down with full motor output... as do other similar models. Very useful for when the cone of chain falls over trapping the riser to the windlass.

There is NO ratchet involved anywhere in the power train, just a motor, a worm drive gearbox and a clutch. I believe this sort of design is common to all bidirectional windlasses on the recreational market.

Jim