Anchor self-deploys

[Dr. D]

My boat has an electric windlass with a Quick remote in the anchor locker and a control pad at the port helm. Also, there is a flag breaker near the battery selector.

I was sailing over the weekend. I had taken off the line normally holding the anchor in place as I had planned to anchor. On Monday I motored to Herrington Harbour South to top off the diesel tank. While motoring out of the harbor, halfway up along between the rock jetties, the windlass starts up and begins lowering the anchor. I threw the motor in reverse and stabbed the button to weigh the anchor. Luckily, the windlass responded and the anchor came up. (Oh, I didn't drift onto the rocks.) Once clear of the channel I went forward and secured the anchor.

Anyone else have this happen? What might be the issue? Obviously, I will keep the flag breaker tripped until I am ready to anchor.

 

[Parsons]

Just to clarify, the windlass began operating in down, not just a slippage of the clutch? This would indicate that the windlass motor was engaged.

Sounds like you may have an intermittent short in the low-current power to activate the windlass relay, which is probably mounted right next to the windlass forward, behind a panel in your v-berth. The short may be in the low-current line from the helm or the hand-held remote mounted in the locker forward. The switches are in parallel, like a garage door opener, and closing either will cause that relay to activate the windlass motor. Easiest diagnosis is (1) get to the relay by removing some panel in your v-berth, (2) disconnect both switches (not the large high-amp leads to the battery) from the relay and have a helper measure continuity with a volt-ohm meter to see that they are both open, and (3) physically manipulate the switches (move the wires around, rattle the helm switch mount, etc.) to see where your short is. Odds are it is not in the wire itself, which rarely fail, but at the switch or connections. Intermittent shorts are a bitch to find as it may never happen again; just a fluke. I'll bet you a beer that it is your hand-held switch in the anchor locker which got splashed one to many times with salt water. Good luck.

 

[JoeWhite]

Same happened to me with the wired remote that I had designed and installed. In my case the hand held switch was being depressed by items that were on top of it. Now I turn on the breaker when the hand held is clear and I am ready to use it.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Of course, anchor shank should be kept fixed or locked in place until anchoring so it cannot deploy if the windlass comes on suddenly, or if it is pitched off the bow roller otherwise. I unlock mine when physically at the bow to deploy and boat is stopped or nearly so. I turn on breaker (switch) just before going forward usually. But no problem with accidental activation to report.

 

[Siamese]

Can't rely on the windlass to secure the anchor. I have a carabiner attached to a line...clips onto the anchor shank and runs to a cleat. Can't depend on the windlass to hold the anchor when it's deployed either, but that's another story.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Job of the windlass is to lower and raise chain and/or nylon warp; not hold the boat against the forces of lying to anchor. Might need to add a snubber stopped to a deck cleat to hold the rode(s).

 

[jssailem]

When installed correctly there are two switches that disable the anchor motor.

1. Primary is the heavy duty breaker that powers the motor. In my case the breaker is 80 amps. It energizes the commutator that likes power to the windlass motor
2. The low power switch breaker on the DC board.

As KG notes, the windlass is designed to lift or release the chain, not hold the boat while at anchor or hold the anchor on the bow of the boat. To secure the anchor you should use an anchor break/lock. You can tie the anchor in place. I use a line tied to the chain and lashed to a bow pad-eye. If the windlass starts the chain stays on the boat. The anchor cannot deploy.

When deployed the anchor is tied using a nylon line or a nylon snubber line tied to bow cleats. These lines hold the chain in place. A loop of slack in the chain is made releasing the strain of the chain off the windlass.

These methods are designed to not let what occurred to Dr D to occur on the boat.

 

[Parsons]

Just to defend OP for those immediately saying that they should secure the anchor with a safety line while sailing:

I was sailing over the weekend. I had taken off the line normally holding the anchor in place as I had planned to anchor. On Monday I motored to Herrington Harbour South to top off the diesel tank.

Perhaps @Dr. D removed their safety line too early, but it's not like they do not know about it. Like everyone else here, you only count the mistakes you make a second time as the first time is your education!

By the way, it would be nice if the good @Dr. D would return to this after he figures it out to tell us what they found.

 

[Dr. D]

Parsons: Thanks, I do secure the anchor normally.

For now, I will keep the flag breaker tripped until ready to anchor. At some point next month I will mess around with this. Odds are this "event" will never happen again.