My F35 P has the double roller setup. On the larger of the two rollers I have a Rocha anchor. The anchor is secured to the roller using a Quick Release Bail Pin. The pin goes through one side of the roller, through a hole in the anchor and out the other side. A secure setup with one problem. I hadn’t used my windless this season yet so I decided to check out. The windless had bent the pin somewhat and the pin got jammed. I had to bang it out with a screwdriver and hammer. Not safe if I needed to deploy my anchor quickly. Fortunately I was at my mooring.
Does anyone simply lash down the anchor with a line (or two) and not use a pin? Another solution perhaps?
I just have a piece of line with one end tied to the toe rail and a snap shackle on the other end that I secure to one of the links of the anchor chain. For me it is just for piece of mind since the windlass holds the chain and anchor securely anyway.
Our Freedom cat ketch has a modified bowsprit for boarding; we secure the anchor with a couple of lashings to keep it flat underfoot and avoid it coming loose in heavy weather. Two reef knots secure the lines, which are left in place when the anchor is deployed; removing the cover on the windlass takes longer!
Simple system on GoodWayII- rockna tied to bow roller with lashing, anchor chain in locker is secured with line and hook so no strain on Muir windlass - Muir has up/down foot controls and remote fob.
My F40/40 #16: primary anchor is 55# Delta with 160’ chain and 300’ rode, secondary is 44# claw with 45’ chain ad 300’ rode (I rarely set both anchors simultaneously, about once or twice per year). I previously kept them both lashed down with rope tied to toe rail. About 10 years ago in heavy weather (6’ seas), the delta came loose in 100’ depth. Stopped us in our tracks. It set well!! It was a real bitch to get it back up.
I became more compulsive since then, with each anchor one secured with 3 different lines. In the anchor locker, I have 5/8’ line secured with a chain hook to the chain and the other end to the fitting that secures the end of the rode for both anchors. I keep the Delta chain around the windlass capstan. I also now use 1/4" 3 strand twisted nylon secured to the toe rail on one end and hooked to the anchor on the other end, with one line secured to the anchor arm where the chain attaches to the anchors and a second line (for each anchor) tied to the small hole at the forward end of each anchor. I check them regularly. We do a lot of anchoring and it is a nuisance to detach the 3 lines each time I anchor, but I do not want to have a repeat performance of losing the anchor overboard again in heavy seas.
Your swivel should be linked to the anchor with at least three links of chain to stop it twisting when you swing through the tide
My anchor is secured by a 10 mm pin through the side of the anchor
OK, now i have to secure the anchor. I have 75 foot of chain and 250 3/4 nylon rode. If all that went over in deep water i would have a devil of a time getting it back on board. Doesnt help it’s a bit of overkill.
On long distance offshore and off soundings the anchor and rode are stored down below and when i have to reinstall it is an absolute PIA due to weight.
If I recall correctly, isn’t your boat about 30’? Do you really need 3/4 rode? 5/8" is easier to handle and should be sufficient.
When I upgraded my chain to 160’ I switched from 3/8" G30 BBB chain to 5/16" G40 high tensile chain. The 5/16 HT chain is stronger and less weight than the 3/8" G30 BBB, which allowed me to increase the amount of chain without increasing the weight on the bow. One downside is that I had to replace the gypsy on the windlass.
Yes I have a Mull 30 and, yes, it is serious overkill with 3/4 inch nylon. I got the rode with the boat, I am embarrassed to say, over 25 years ago.
Consequently I am thinking of getting one of those horizontal Lewmar widlasses and ditching the nylon altogether. I would go all chain, maybe 150 feet. Replace the old swivel but retain my CQR which really has been flawless for me over the years and a LOT of anchoring in mud and exposed to tidal currents. Also have had good luck in sand.
In shallow anchorages on Cali delta I have wrapped the nylon around the keel as tides changed. Once got trapped in this situation as current spun the boat, wind came up middle of the night, rode wrapped the keel and the boat got locked port quarter to the wind. Huge pain to get off at 3 in the morning in 25 kts. Fortunately not too much fetch where I was anchored. I added 50 feet of chain to my short 10 foot chain after that cluster. Now, as my bones get older I like the chain but my back and arms are calling “time out”. So if I go to a windlass I will ditch the Nylon as mentioned.
I was thinking 1/4 chain would do? But thanks for noting the stronger/lighter chain type.
I believe others have done the flat Lewmar windlass on an F30 so I’ll be asking for experiences with install after I sort the motor mounts, shaft seal and lipo power upgrade. In other words, sometime in 2026
I also do a lot of anchoring and have 17 years with this boat. Your rode probably wrapped around the keel because you only had 10’ of chain, which is inadequate for any overnight anchoring. This is less likely to happen if you set out a lot of scope of rode & chain. The chain keeps the anchor parallel to the bottom. Any stress such as in a blow will pull the anchor horizontally and allow the anchor to dig deeper into the bottom. Using only 10’ will set you up for dislodging the anchor by having the boat pull on the anchor vertically. If there are any weeds, it will dislodge even more easily.
I have a 30-year-old horizontal Lewmar and it is great. I could not manage my ground tackle without it since I use a 55# Delta and 160’ of chain. The windlass draws a lot of power and needs heavy cable from the battery. Do not undersize the cable. Always run the engine while using the windlass.
You might be able to go with 1/4" chain if you use high tensile. I would research it to see if ¼” HT is enough for your boat. If you go with 150’ of chain you might want to add at least 100’ of rode, which would not be a great expense compared to the chain. 150’ of scope limits you to about 20’ depth for anchoring, and even if you usually anchor in less than that, you will never know when you might need it. I use 5:1 scope:depth at minimum but usually aim for 7:1. Whenever I anchor, even if there is no current and no wind, I plan on gale force winds to hit. 5:1 is ok when you do not have a lot of wind or current, but you can never predict what is going to happen the next 24-48 hours as you sit at anchor, most often in the middle of the night. I have had it happen several times. If you have 150’ of chain and 50’-100’ of rode out, it is unlikely that you would get the rode wrapped around the keel.
Always keep in mind after you install your windlass that you should never use the windlass to hold the ground tackle when at anchor. It is not designed for that. In a blow, there is no stretch to the chain and you can have tremendous stress on the hardware holding the anchor to the boat, which can dislodge the anchor and/or damage your windlass. You should create a 15-20’ nylon snubber line bridle looped or tied to each of the two bow cleats, with both sides of the bridle individually spliced or shackled to a single chain hook which is hooked to the chain. Once you are convinced the anchor is set, you let out another 10-15’ of chain to form a chain loop below the hook to keep the hook attached to the chain. Alternatively, if you let out all 150’ of your chain, you need to let out another 15-20’ of rode which attaches to the boat. You need the nylon rode or snubber to stretch and cushion the connection as the waves and wind hit the bow of the boat. The nylon acts as a shock absorber. Mantus makes several types of snubber hooks.
I do not recommend the CQR. It is 50 year old technology. We have a lot of weeds where I anchor and CQR will not set in weeds. It is ok in sand or mud, but there still are a lot better anchors available. There is a lot on the internet about this. My Delta has a very heavily weighted point and digs through the weeds into the bottom. I try to anchor in deeper water (>20’) where there are fewer weeds. If I were to buy an anchor today I would probably go with a Mantus or Rocna. They were not around when I replaced my CQR with the Delta.
Also, keep in mind that a washdown hose is invaluable if you use a lot of chain because the chain picks up a load of mud, and you don’t want that in your anchor locker.
I would recommend against using a bungie cord. I would add at least one other form of lashing of the anchor to the boat. You don’t want this to snap in heavy weather.
“Modern anchor development probably began with the invention of the CQR in 1933 by Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor, a professor at Trinity College, Cambridge, who has been described as ‘one of the great physical scientists of the 20th century’.”
Yes, you are correct. The gypsy has to be the correct size for the chain size.
Also, anchor windlasses are quite dangerous. Keep your hands and feet away from the chain, rode, and windlass while both lowering and raising the anchor. Use heavy gloves.
I have the original windlass that the manufacturer installed. When I changed from 3/8’ to 5/16" chain I ordered a new gypsy, which was not difficult to install. I would imagine you should be able to order the correct gypsy that is needed for the size chain you use when you purchase the new windlass. I am sure you can check with Maxwell on this before you purchase.
My windlass has a smooth spindle for the rode separate from the chain gypsy. If I use the smooth spool side I wrap the rode around it a few times just like I do for a halyard or sheet on the sail windlass, but the gypsy itself will also grab the rode quite well, which is what I usually do.
Many people splice the nylon rode directly to the chain and it works seamlessly. I do it differently and have my rode spliced around a nylon or SS thimble that I connect to the anchor chain using a shackle. When I am hauling anchor, by the time I reach the rode to chain connection, the tackle is loose since the boat has moved forward and I just briefly pause the windlass and quickly shift the chain onto the gypsy. It may be simpler to splice the nylon line directly to the chain to eliminate the loop/thimble/shackle, but I find the chain deteriorates the nylon at the connection and needs to have a foot off the rode every few years and re-spliced it to the chain. As I said, most people just splice it directly instead of what I do. It makes the transition from rode to chain easier when hauling in the ground tackle. I just feel more secure with the shackle.
I use my CQR as a garden ornament.