When choosing a windlass
there are several choices to be made.
Electric or Manual, Vertical or Horizontal, what size windlass do I
buy, chain size to be used, chain type, wire sizing, and where to buy.
We can answer the last question first, buy your windlass here at Seacraft.
Windlasses usually are powered by you and
your muscles or by an electric motor. The advantages of a
manual windlass include ease of installation, price, and less potential
for things to go wrong. The advantages of a electric windlass
is you don't have to use your muscles, they are quicker, and you are
more likely to carry heavier ground tackle as you don't have to lift
it. Most electric windlasses have manual overrides in case
of power failures.
Often the choice between a horizontal or a
vertical windlasses is made by your boat rather than by you.
In other words, what type will fit on my boat. A vertical windlass
has the chain wheel (a chain wheel, also called a gypsy, is the thing
the chain and rope rode go around.) and the capstan (the drum like looking
thing that takes in or out rope rode) laying flat to the deck while
a horizontal windlass has the chain wheel and capstan up and down in
relation to the deck. The advantage of a vertical
windlass is its low profile, its motor and or gear box is usually under
the deck, and therefore the vertical units use less deck space.
The horizontal windlass usually has the motor above decks using up less
anchor locker space.
How do you know what size windlass to buy?
Generally you want to find out how much your ground tackle weighs.
This is the weight of your chain and your anchor. Lets say
for example that you have 200 foot of 5/16 High Test Acco brand chain
and a 45 lb. CQR anchor. The chain weights approximately
1.1 lbs per ft for a total of (200 x 1.1) 220 lbs. and then add
the anchor weight of 45 lbs for a total of 265 lbs.. (Any rope
rode weight is generally disregarded for this calculation, assuming
you are using 50 percent of more chain.) The total
weight of 265 should then be multiplied by a factor of 3.
Using the factor of 3 we come up with a 795 lbs. rating for the windlass.
If we were interested in a Muir vertical electric windlass we would
see that the Muir VRC 850 has a power rating or max load of 500
lbs. and the Muir VRC 1000 has a rating of 1000 lbs. You
would choose the Muir VRC 1000 in this example.
What do I need to know about chain?
Well for one thing, there are three main chain types generally available
in the market place. One is Proof Coil, which is not suitable
for windlass applications due to the long size of the links.
The other two are BBB or Triple B and HT or High Test, which are both
suitable for windlasses. We generally prefer HT because
it is stronger. Make sure you buy chain that is hot dipped
galvanized, and that is I.S.O. Standard Chain. There is HT chain
out there that meets all of the breaking and load tests, however the
sizing of each link is not consistent. This is a nightmare
for a windlass, as the chain jumps from link to link in the chain wheel.
We recommend ACCO brand chain because of the quality.
What do I need to buy besides the windlass?
In a Manual Windlass installation you will need bedding compound, bolts
and nuts, washers and backing plate materials, in a typical installation.
In the case of a Electric Windlass you will need everything above and
a heavy amperage circuit breaker, heavy gauge tinned and stranded wire,
lugs, and a up footswitch. Options include handheld remote
controls, down footswitch, toggle switches, and control boxs.
