Fitting an anchor windlass

[Sabre27Admin]

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 27/10/2011 : 17:18:43
I picked up a SL Hyspeed anchor windlass at a boat jumble and rebuilt it...and it's destined for my foredeck. OK, so you may ask "why bother", after all I think it was Paul who said "I've brought the average association member age down quite a bit" however having had spinal surgery twice already in my mid 30s I need to try and give the old back a rest and pulling up anchors is not ideal, yet we are becoming real fans of finding somewhere quiet to drop the hook at night!

So I'm just wondering what peoples' experiences are with fitting horizontal axis windlasses. I think it will need to go at the back of the foredeck, behind the samson post, or it will be forever in the way. On a test fit one problem would appear to be the clump of chain that forms just under the gypsy...my windlass is missing the stripper (I was thinking of improvising with a piece of large bore plastic pipe sat on a wooden mount to encourage it away from the gypsy). I will reinforce the deck a bit too up in the fo'c'sle.

Has anyone worked out a better way of mounting it and managing the chain? I guess perhaps a horizontal axis would be better as you can take the chain forward and down the hawse pipe, but as it only cost me about £50 including new parts to rebuild, I'd like to try and get it to work rather than splashing out for a new one.

Whilst we are on the subject of anchoring, does regular anchoring without a bow roller start to mash up the stemhead fitting? Is there an easy way of fitting a bow roller? I don't mind storing my CQR on deck, but I do wince when I see the anchor chain beating 7 bells out of the forestay clevis pin (plastic pipe now fitted to give it some protection!)

Thanks in advance
ken endean
United Kingdom
52 Posts

Posted - 29/10/2011 : 18:20:14
We fitted a vertical axis windlass (SL Anchorman) and, although it was forward of the Samson post, the main problem was in persuading the chain to feed down the navel pipe without bunching, particularly when the chain locker was half full. In the end, I had to raise it on a timber plinth with a metal-faced chute to reduce friction (shown in Rattling Sabres a few years ago but I haven't yet found the edition).
During the 25 years while we have owned our boat the stem fitting has stood up to a swinging mooring with 10mm chain rode, plus about 60 anchorages per year. The forestay actually secures to a long D-shackle, which looks unprofessional but robust. We arrange it with the head of its pin on the port side (wired) and use the starboard side of the fitting for the anchor chain. When at anchor, if the boat sheers the 8mm anchor chain slips noisily from side to side, so we normally take the load off it with a short rope strop. Most owners who frequent exposed anchorages seem to adopt this policy in the end, after their mate's beauty sleep has been spoiled once too often.
Many years ago, John Sayer fitted a roller to the stemhead fitting on 'Lydia' and I think he wrote it up in an early edition of RS.

Lottie
United Kingdom
12 Posts

Posted - 29/10/2011 : 19:22:44
1: Horizontal windlass fitting: I have fitted two horizontal windlasses (both Lofrans Royale) - one to a Centaur and one to a Konsort. In both cases I sited them well forward in front to the Samson post so that the chain came vertically off the gypsy and went vertically down a hause hole cut for the purpose directly into the chain locker. If I recall, in one case the existing hawse pipe served and in the second I cut a new one and glassed over the old one. I don't recall ever having any problems with chain bunching (though the Lofrans has a chain stripper) or the windlass getting in the way, snagging jibsheets etc.

2: I own a Marcon Trident, not a Sabre, but we too have bronze stemhead fittings though my impression is the Sabre's might be a more substantial bit of kit. Almost all the earlier Trident fittings did not have a bow roller - just a sort of channel for the chain to rest in. Tridents have been going a bit longer than Sabres but I have never heard of this channel part wearing. Later versions had a modified bronze moulding with taller cheeks to this channel to accommodate a bow roller. The bit that has failed on some Tridents are these cheeks which have holes in to take the forestay clevis pin. Failures include wear and elongation of these holes to the point where they crack open. The cheeks on the Trident can also be vulnerable to damage in collisions etc. Remedies have included having a stainless steel replacement fabricated (cost £250). This would enable you to have deeper cheeks to accommodate a roller and chain retaining pin. One Trident owner repaired his by welding with bronze welding rods. Another is said to be grinding off the top of the stemhead moulding flat and bolting on a suitable stainless steel replacement bowroller. Another Trident owner with cheeks that were bent and damaged took the bronze stemhead to a workshop where it was placed it in a kiln until it acquired the consistency of putty to enable the bend to be straightened. The cheeks were repaired by welding. They had trouble matching the metal (its said to be an alloy of aluminium and bronze). But they did the best they could with phosphor bronze. I have pictures of some of these things but they are probably not relevant to Sabre wowners.

yerffoeg
United Kingdom
48 Posts

Posted - 06/11/2011 : 20:55:59
Horizontal windlass. I fitted a Lofgren Royal a few years ago. First took off the old hawse pipe fitting, glassed it over, and drilled in a new vertical hole, which is in direct line with the fall of the chain. I bought an old bronze hawse pipe second hand, which fits through the hole and has a cap (which I sometimes forget to put on resulting in substantial amounts of water in the bilge!). I anchor as much as I can during the season, and this set up works perfectly; the chain never snags. Make sure you get the right gauge chain to fit the windlass gypsy, and I don't mean just sizing.
Friction on the stem fitting.I have the forestay attached to the portside tang of the stemhead fitting, instead of to the central tang. Other readers might suggest that this is incorrect, but it means there is a nice slot for the anchor and /or chain to sit, without it fouling the forestay turnbuckle. I often attach a snubber line (including a rubber snubber) to stop the chain grinding away and keeping folk awake at night. This is attached to via a rolling hitch about 6 metres down the chain. I then bring it up through a stem head morring farilead to a cleat on deck.

Regards,

Geoff

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 07/11/2011 : 22:25:23
Many thanks for the replies everyone. Geoff, I'd be particularly interested to see any pictures of your setup. A couple of questions...

-As the anchor load is not supposed to be on the windlass, where does the load go?

-Does the chain still go in the original chain locker (mine is an earlier boat without the deck locker)

-How do you attach the snubber to the chain? You say rolling hitch, I assume this is when you are lying to chain and warp, but what if it's just chain (shallow water?)

Thanks!

sabre27
178 Posts

Posted - 08/11/2011 : 19:24:40
Hi Iain,

We only have chain. I imagine anyone who anchors a lot, especially overnight, when chain noise can be a serious sleep impediment, will use a 'chain hook' (available at all decent chandlers) of the appropriate size, attached to a short length of rope which will take out all the rumbling noise. Best attached with a splice to keep the size down if you like ‘tidy’. Quick and easy to deploy!

Our rope is protected from chafe in the Stem Head with a short length, 12” or so, of plastic tube, permanently tied in place on the rope in a position which just keeps the plated steel hook out of the briny when hanging vertically.

Paul Howard. S27OA Technical Officer.

yerffoeg
United Kingdom
48 Posts

Posted - 13/11/2011 : 23:41:30
Iain,

I am computer illiterate. I cannot figure out how to post a photo of my own on the forum. Also I cannot change my old email address on my profile.

If you contact me at geoff.packe@yahoo.co.uk I will be happy to send you a photo of my anchoring set up.

Geoff


rory7520
United Kingdom
58 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2011 : 13:33:50
If anybody has any pictures, I too would be grateful. E mail: 'ntrs@hotmail.com' Thanks

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 14/11/2011 : 16:58:53
Geoff

You have mail. Be interested to see how you have done it, however now I've had a chance to test fit the windlass, I think it will just be a case of removing the existing hawse pipe and putting the windlass straight over the existing hole, on a new oak mounting pad to raise it up slightly from the existing "kingplank".

Thanks again all!