Capstan matching

[dehler25]

My recent survey showed a problem with the way the chain travelled on the capstan. It appeared to be a good fit, but tried to follow the path around as opposed to falling down into the locker. How do I determine what capstan it is and match it to the correct chain? The previous owner neverdropped the hook.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I am not sure you will find a marking on the gypsy that indicates what chain should be used, but for boats your size the most common gypsy uses 5/16" G4 hi-tensile chain. The chain is marked with "G4" on the outside edge in the middle of the links. If you don't have G4, I'm not sure how the other flavors of chain are marked if at all.

The manual for the windlass should list the possible gypsies that are available. The most common is 5/16" and the next most common is 3/8".

If the chain on the anchor is just a length attached to a line, that chain may not be G4. If the anchor rode is all chain, the original buyer should have matched the chain to the gypsy.

 

[dehler25]

Thanks, that was what I was wondering about as it would seem a needed bit of info that the capstan would be marked so the chain could be matched. I need to get back to the boat and get my head to see.

 

[charliegrau]

you can take the gypsy off and take it to the store and find chain to match....or you can take the chain and buy a new gypsy to match...depending on make of windlass and availability of parts.