Windlass Operation from the Cockpit

[Kings Gambit]

I’m preparing for summer cruising of the islands, which includes anchoring. For 20 years I’ve accomplished it with my windlass control at the bow, a Quick (not wireless) hand remote console. The set-up works fine except when I need to weigh in windy (> 15 kt) conditions without crew aboard. In those stronger winds it gets dicey weighing with no crew at the helm. So I’m installing a wired control console at the helm (i.e., run cabling). Day 3 starting today!

My a priori knowledge of boat electrical wiring is quite basic. Yet, I’ve arrived to the point where I’m ready to connect the helm wiring to the rely at the switch panel. The way it works: I switch on at the panel then go forward to use the Quick console to power the windlass. (No foot switch there.) After today I should be able to switch on at the panel and control the windlass (up, down) from either the bow or the helm. My main objective is to able to remain at the helm while weighing with the windlass so I can apply engine power and steerage as needed, naturally. However, a foot switch at the helm rather than the hand console is probably preferable.

Why has it taken a 3-day period? First, figure how to do it starting with a morass of unlabeled wires and cables behind the switch panel, identify and then acquire the proper cabling via Amazon (after learning to read “cablese”), get the other connectors (a couple of trips to the electronics store 6 miles away), test connections at the relay w/o sparking anything, and then run the cabling.
Any suggestions or comments?

 

[jssailem]

Your efforts are well founded. Control from the cockpit while in control of the boat is a valuable and safety motivated structure.

While I have a back up wired control switch at the dc panel, I use a remote (I have a pair) as my primary tool. I can raise or lower the anchor with the pocket remote from anywhere on the boat.

The manual switch is a simple 3 wire connection on my system. A common power in the center and up or down connection on the top or bottom of the switch. The choice of direction is at the anchor motor control. Wire it backwards and pressing the button shows, you should have read the manual.

Good luck. Your DIY elecrtrical skills will barely be tested.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Your efforts are well founded. Control from the cockpit while in control of the boat is a valuable and safety motivated structure.

While I have a back up wired control switch at the dc panel, I use a remote (I have a pair) as my primary tool. I can raise or lower the anchor with the pocket remote from anywhere on the boat.

The manual switch is a simple 3 wire connection on my system. A common power in the center and up or down connection on the top or bottom of the switch. The choice of direction is at the anchor motor control. Wire it backwards and pressing the button shows, you should have read the manual.

Good luck. Your DIY elecrtrical skills will barely be tested.

Whereas the remote’s socket conducting wires are colored coded, the boat’s installed cabling servicing the bow socket are not, all are black. There’s no guide there to connecting the remote wires to the relay and panel switch. Trial and error. If hooked up incorrectly either one button (on the remote) does nothing while the other powers the windlass in one direction or the other; or the buttons power the windlass but in reverse (i.e., up button is down, down is up), or the buttons do not power the windlass at all. Of course, working alone I can hear the windlass power on, but cannot know down or up unless going to the anchor locker to see which direction the chain moved. Three trips up to the windlass to get the wires on correctly. I’ll consult the windlass manual if I can find it; boat’s wiring diagrams might be decipherable now that I know “the answer.” German-built boat, remember. German language labels throughout; Quick remotes are Italian made, but there is a Quick U.S.A.. What I needed first was instruction to buy 15 ft of 18 gauge 3-wire conducting cable. Might look forever in a manual(s) to find that tidbit.

 

[shemandr]

You are going to love being able to raise or lower the anchor from the cockpit. You are going to thank yourself every time you use it.
The wife and have entertained many an anchorage with colorful language while trying to communicate two simple commands - raise or lower. For the record I would like to add that if the anchor is on the bottom there is just one command.

 

[JamesG161]

The wife and have entertained many an anchorage with colorful language while trying to communicate two simple commands - raise or lower.

When we got our boat, we found 2 wireless headsets. Hmmm what these for?

Now we know !!!

Although the Admiral refuses to wear them, hand signals do work.

Captain Jim...

 

[JamesG161]

Check my post #114 on this link for possible answer.

Repairing boat after Hurricane Zeta

Jim...

 

[Kings Gambit]

We’re blessed. Our procedure is so well practiced that we do not need much verbal communication while anchoring, or recovering. Most of the talking is on choosing the spot, which we do before my leaving the cockpit for the anchor locker. Approach, turn head to wind and coast until nearly stopped or until the head begins to blow down. I gravity drop as we drift back or idle in reverse and veer appropriate scope. When the boat halts, power back until we’re set. If we do not set, helm knows we pick up and try again.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I must be missing something here as it seems the consensus is cockpit control are preferable. Perhaps the difference is I am used to bow controls and where we sail, I can usually see the bottom to know what’s happening with the anchor. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the confidence that affords by being at the bow where I can’t see the anchor.

Am I missing something?

 

[shemandr]

95% of the anchoring we did you could not see the bottom. Even in 7’ of water.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

95% of the anchoring we did you could not see the bottom. Even in 7’ of water.

Can’t help wonder if there is more to it than that.

 

[dLj]

I must be missing something here as it seems the consensus is cockpit control are preferable. Perhaps the difference is I am used to bow controls and where we sail, I can usually see the bottom to know what’s happening with the anchor. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the confidence that affords by being at the bow where I can’t see the anchor.

Am I missing something?

I don't know if you are missing something but I will say, I have anchor controls both in the cockpit and at the bow. While I tested that my cockpit controls work, other than that test I have never used them. I always go to the bow to set and retrieve anchor.

So maybe we are both missing something... LOL

sj

 

[Kings Gambit]

I don't know if you are missing something but I will say, I have anchor controls both in the cockpit and at the bow. While I tested that my cockpit controls work, other than that test I have never used them. I always go to the bow to set and retrieve anchor.

So maybe we are both missing something... LOL

sj

Missing might be when there is no one at the helm and you're recovering in strong wind with little room around you (i.e., other boats) or near a rocky lee shore. Before you get the anchor up, or mostly up, and return to the helm you're two or more boat lengths downwind traveling at one knot or more. Plus, it's usually cold around here and more often than not this (dragging or other?) happens at night whenever it's urgent, etc.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Missing might be when there is no one at the helm and you're recovering in strong wind with little room around you (i.e. other boats) or near a rocky lee shore. Before you get the anchor up, or mostly up, and return to the helm you're two or more boat lengths downwind traveling at one knot or more. Plus, it's usually cold around here and more often than not this (dragging or other?) happens at night whenever it's urgent, etc.

I certainly get the solo sailer complexity although never done it. With at least one other semi-coherent person onboard, they seem to grasp the concept of up/down buttons and the corresponding thumb up/thumb down signal.
So, is that the reason - single handed sailing?

 

[Tally Ho]

I was on the hook for the weekend last summer, alone, and overnight a nasty wind blew in that but me stern to shore with not a lot of seaway between me and the beach. I woke up before sunrise and evaluated my situation.

-No windlass, so I have to go to the bow and haul up the anchor, before the wind blew me back and on to a sandbar or worse, the beach. Waves were building as I waited for daylight. Made breakfast and coffee, and once it was light enough, I donned my follies and headed outside.
I started the engine first, and made sure I could motor away quickly once the anchor was up…then up to the bow, sitting behind the anchor locker, gloves in and ready to start hauling in the rode and chain…hard to pull the boat towards the anchor in wind and waves…but didn’t think I could / should put boat in FWD, even at idle.

Got the boat “ up to the anchor” and then hoisted as quickly as I could once the anchor broke out of the sand and the boat was free…. Didn’t bother trying to pin the anchor in place, just wrapped the chain around a cleat to hold it as Inran back to the helm.

Got the boat moving forward, set AP to hold us into the wind, and scrambled back to the bow to secure anchor properly.

Man, first I wish I had a windlass, then I would want controls at the helm

Greg

 

[Kings Gambit]

So, is that the reason - single handed sailing?

Yes, principally.

 

[Kings Gambit]

I was on the hook for the weekend last summer, alone, and overnight a nasty wind blew in that but me stern to shore with not a lot of seaway between me and the beach. I woke up before sunrise and evaluated my situation.

-No windlass, so I have to go to the bow and haul up the anchor, before the wind blew me back and on to a sandbar or worse, the beach. Waves were building as I waited for daylight. Made breakfast and coffee, and once it was light enough, I donned my follies and headed outside.
I started the engine first, and made sure I could motor away quickly once the anchor was up…then up to the bow, sitting behind the anchor locker, gloves in and ready to start hauling in the rode and chain…hard to pull the boat towards the anchor in wind and waves…but didn’t think I could / should put boat in FWD, even at idle.

Got the boat “ up to the anchor” and then hoisted as quickly as I could once the anchor broke out of the sand and the boat was free…. Didn’t bother trying to pin the anchor in place, just wrapped the chain around a cleat to hold it as Inran back to the helm.

Got the boat moving forward, set AP to hold us into the wind, and scrambled back to the bow to secure anchor properly.

Man, first I wish I had a windlass, then I would want controls at the helm

Greg

Tally Ho,

Your account reminds me of a similar one of a “marina mate” at Ventura West Marina in Ventura, CA. He had been visiting the anchorages of Santa Cruz Island in the northern California Channel Islands for a few years single handed
in his Catalina 30 (I believe, but maybe another model) which had no windlass. The islands are notorious as a place of sudden unpredicted changes of wind direction and speed of strong winds. Just returning from a visit there where the boat had started dragging at anchor toward the rocky shore in strong wind, he described his struggle to recover the anchor and get underway. I guess he experienced some real fear. He said that he would not go out there again without a windlass, so had one installed within a couple of weeks. He did not say if it was operable from the cockpit, but I suspect that it was or was destined to be.

Having anchored out there 80 or more nights, I can imagine a similar event befalling me when single handing. So, I take great care to anchor securely in the first place (as I know we all do as experienced cruisers). A windlass is essential for my sized boat, but not having it operable from the cockpit at a time of crisis presents nearly the same risk when single handing as not having one at all, IMO.

 

[Michael Davis]

Missing might be when there is no one at the helm and you're recovering in strong wind with little room around you (i.e., other boats) or near a rocky lee shore. Before you get the anchor up, or mostly up, and return to the helm you're two or more boat lengths downwind traveling at one knot or more. Plus, it's usually cold around here and more often than not this (dragging or other?) happens at night whenever it's urgent, etc.

I can certainly see the advantage when single handed. We have limited fall from the gypsy on our boat so I would want to be “hove short” then check that I wouldn’t jam the chain gypsy before returning to the helm to pick up the next 30/40 feet of chain, get under way, set the auto pilot the return to the bow to get the anchor fully up and catted. I use a Bruce anchor that inevitably comes up backwards and it’s nice to be there to wash off the chain as it comes in.
we use “team talk” head phones as well. It’s nice to ask the helmsman to give a little forward to take the strain off the windlass or to tell them when the anchor has broken free so we can get moving.
we seldom have the opportunity to anchor in less than 30 feet of water and now there are places on the coast that will not let you anchor in less than 60 feet. That’s to protect the eel grass for the herring spawn.

 

[jssailem]

Wow, 60 feet (20 meters). That is insane. The data developed over the past 15 years of surveying the eelgrass in the Puget sound shows there is not enough sunlight for the grass to be healthy and grow past the 25ft (8.3 meter) depth.

I suspect the herring spawn would die from the pressure at 60 ft.

NOAA’s report on the Pacific Herring:

Pacific Herring spawn along shorelines in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. They deposit their eggs on kelp, eelgrass, and other available structures. After spawning, herring return to their summer feeding areas.​

After hatching, Pacific Herring larvae remain in nearshore waters close to their spawning grounds to feed and grow in the protective cover of shallow water habitats. After two to three months, the larvae metamorphose into juveniles. During the summer of their first year, these juveniles form schools in shallow bays, inlets, and channels. These schools disappear in the fall and then move to deep water for the next two to three years.​

 

[Michael Davis]

Wow, 60 feet (20 meters). That is insane. The data developed over the past 15 years of surveying the eelgrass in the Puget sound shows there is not enough sunlight for the grass to be healthy and grow past the 25ft (8.3 meter) depth.

I suspect the herring spawn would die from the pressure at 60 ft.

NOAA’s report on the Pacific Herring:

Pacific Herring spawn along shorelines in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. They deposit their eggs on kelp, eelgrass, and other available structures. After spawning, herring return to their summer feeding areas.​

After hatching, Pacific Herring larvae remain in nearshore waters close to their spawning grounds to feed and grow in the protective cover of shallow water habitats. After two to three months, the larvae metamorphose into juveniles. During the summer of their first year, these juveniles form schools in shallow bays, inlets, and channels. These schools disappear in the fall and then move to deep water for the next two to three years.​

Yeah, I think if they say sixty, we’ll fudge to fifty. Err on the side of caution! Anyway it’s about time they started doing something to protect the fish. If we want a sustainable yield we have to let them breed.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Yeah, I think if they say sixty, we’ll fudge to fifty. Err on the side of caution! Anyway it’s about time they started doing something to protect the fish. If we want a sustainable yield we have to let them breed.

I don’t recall specifics now but NOAA surveys a few years back reported finding herring eggs stuck to rocks in water deeper than typical for the species. I recall concern about availability of “suitable” substrate (grass). The eggs are not fertilized until after being deposited. Males school near the eggs and shed massive amounts of milt to fertilize. If the eggs are too deep, fertilization might be inhibited although 20 m does not seem all that deep.