Windlass

[unhinged schoolboy]

I was itching to spend 3 nights on the boat, sailing about and finding nice coves...BBQ.

I opted to buy a danforth anchor and for my boat...(According to Skip Novak) I needed a 22 lb anchor to hold my S2 in 25 knot winds gusting to 30ish. Finding the perfect cove for prevailing winds I set my anchor and started my anchor watch app. The winds blew and she held fast, however, the next morning I could not free the anchor no matter what I did...my 150 buck anchor was on the line. I motored over it, pulled till red in the face. Donned my dive gear and dove the anchor...burried so deep in mud i could not budge it. remitted the anchor and 30 feet of chain to the bottom.

Anyway.....in my single handed tugging I saw a vision of a shinny windlass near my anchor locker......where and what type would you install on a 9.2a or what type has worked good for you

 

[Mark Maulden]

You have some decisions to make. Do you want a manual or electric? And if you want electric, is the boats electrical system up to the task? Are you ok with a motor underneath the deck in the V-berth? You might find an electric horizontal that keeps everything above deck. Is the deck stiff enough to handle the loads? I don’t recall the anchor locker config on the 9.2, but on the 11.0, the locker door is triangular and right at the pointy end. I removed the door, cut it in two lengthwise and turned one of the halves into part of the deck and mounted the windlass there. Do some looking at 9.2s for sale online. See if any of those have windlasses and how they are installed. Also, your locker is probably pretty shallow (allowing for longer V-berth) which means you will have manage the flaking as the anchor is raised. Take your time wi this. Its a major project.
Also, go back to where you left your anchor and retrieve it. Fasten the rode tightly to the boat and let the boat pull it out over time. If you’re dealing with chain, you can also (since you dive) attach a separate line to the anchor and bring it to the boat and use a primary winch to tension it. Or use a friends boat that has a windlass.

 

[Simon Sexton]

@unhinged schoolboy ,

I've had that happen to me before, TWICE. Unfortunately, it took me that many times to figure out a cheap, basic solution. I tied a loop in the anchor rhode, tied a line to the loop, and wrapped the attached line around a halyard winch on the mast. I then used that winch to pull the anchor out of the mud; it worked perfectly! Just try this and save yourself some money if it doesn't work, then I'd go for a small windlass...you don't want anything too big on a boat that size. Hope this helps!

God Bless,
S.S.

 

[jssailem]

@unhinged schoolboy I agree with Mark and Simon. Got get your anchor back.
Fresh tanks, dive, dig down on the opposite side of the anchor chain and pull the anchor out backwards from the way it set. You can always attach a line and a float to an anchor so that your can pull it up backwards should it set too deep. Added bonus is the float helps other to see your anchor location and avoid the area (that is if they are smart).
I pulled a manual windlass off my boat last year. Send me a PM (private message) if interested.

As Mark suggest such a DYI task is a major project.

Being young and strong, pull up to the anchor drawing in the rode and chain then sit in the boat at idle with the chain and rode vertical above the anchor. The boat will bob and weave. The anchor will not like it and try to reset, but because the chain and rode are vertical the anchor will work it's way out of the mud and you will be free. Haul up the rest of the rode and chain, clean the anchor before hauling all the bottom mud onto the boat, and your off.

 

[unhinged schoolboy]

I can find the anchor. Next weekend I will go get it up. I'll reattach and hover over the anchor real tight and make that work, that seems to be the way to get familiar with. Just before I decided to cut loose it was blowing pretty good and i had just finished bringing in 60 feet of line for the third time...it was work. 5 tons. Single handed in stout winds, a windlass would guarantee an easier job...I'll put money in the kitty for a windlass and do without it for now and try and master old school shoulder winch ways .

 

[pateco]

My one big anchoring disaster would have been impossible without an extra hand to drive the boat. Anchored in the sand in 60' of water outside a local reef to do some diving. Finished our dive day and went to pull anchor and leave. Spent an hour breaking my back trying to haul it up with no luck (I really want a windlass). luckily I still had some air in one of the tanks. Put my gear back on and dove the anchor. Somehow we had managed to hook under the only coral boulder in the entire sand patch. It was wedged in good, and took my about 10 minutes to break it free with the boat idling above me. If I hadn't had dive gear aboard, I would have had to cut it free.
Rodeo anchoring

I was using my Danforth backup anchor (See pictures below) exclusively at that time as I felt the primary Supermax Anchor ,that I had never used would be harder to retrieve. After this incident I have returned to past anchorages, and anchored with the Supermax. Not only does it hold much better in our local bottoms (sand or muck), it is also much easier to retrieve.


The Danforth is only for emergencies now..

 

[thinwater]

It's a matter of taking your time.

• Pull in until you are over the anchor and cleat it. I like to limit the chain so that I only have line on deck, but a chain lock works.
• When there is a lull, pull in some more. The engine at idle can help in a blow.
  
• Don't waste your back pulling. Just wait.
• Motor up, tighten more and wait.
• Motor over it slow.
• None of that worked? Get a winch on it. Get it tight and wait.
• Never use back power.

As a rule, the recovery force will not exceed the max rode tension. And yes, this is a characteristic of Danforth and Fortress anchors. I loaded anchors up to 3 tons on my last boat during anchor testing in soft mud. The Fortress would go deep, but I could always get it out with a winch and time. That said, it's not my everyday anchor.