Anchor Windlass

Sunset Dream originally had a Nilsson (New Zealand) anchor windlass.  As purchased, the boat was equiped with a 44 pound claw anchor and 125-150' of 5/16" BBB chain rode.  The anchor windlass had a single (up) foot switch, and remote switches at both upper and lower helms.  While the remote switches were marked for up/down, the windlass only powered up.  To lower the anchor, the clutch had to be loosened to allow the anchor to free-fall.

The anchor rested on the bow pulpit on a bow roller with stainless steel guide.  The bow pulpit sits at an upward pointing attitude, such that once released, the anchor will not drop without being pushed off.  Further, even when the windlass clutch is released, chain had to be pulled out to allow sufficient slack to push the anchor over.

While this type of anchor windlass has been used for years, its operation involves an inherent safety risk of needing to manually remove the  chain from the windlass to release and drop the anchor.

The anchor windlass still worked (in "up"), but did have issues with the chain sometimes slipping out of the teeth.  The one time anchoring was attempted, strong, gusty winds caused the boat to pitch and fall off, resulting in rode being pulled back out multiple times during the process of attempting to retrieve the anchor.

The decision was made to replace the Nilsson windlass with a new model that would allow both up and down operation.

The Nilsson windlass was a vertical drum type.   The windlass was mounted in a wooden box constructed at the bow of the boat.  The box is approximately a foot tall and a foot wide, with a door at the aft end of the box to access the windlass motor and a washdown hose.   The drum is mounted on the top surface of the windlass box.  The electric windlass motor and breaker were mounted inside the boat.  The contactor was mounted below, in the chain locker.  A PVC type tube led chain from the port forward side of the windlass down through the box, and into the chain locker.

Removing the 40 year old windlass was a challenge.  Bolts were rusted, some of which required penetrating oil, breaker bars, and one even had to be drilled out.  The mounting bolts were on either side of the windlass motor.  There was not sufficient space between the windlass motor and side of the box to get a wrench in.  A crow's foot was finally used to get to one of the nuts.

Due to the close spacing and difficulty removing the old windlass motor, the decision was made that the next windlass would have a horizontal drum configuration.   Horizontal drum windlasses are generially made such that the entire assembly sits up on top of the deck, rather than having only the drum above deck level.  This would make installation easier from the perspective of just bolting the windlass onto the box.  But it added the complication that the anchor plate and roller would have to be shifted to the starboard side of the bow pulpit, and the chain hawse pipe would need to be moved to the aft, starboard side of th windlass, instead of the prior forward port corner of the windlass location.

Several windlass models were considered.  The Lofrans Tigress model and Maxwell HRC10 models seemed to be appropriately sized for the Ocean Alexander 40 trawler.   Ultimately, the Maxwell HRC 10-8 model was ordered from Amazon, with a price of about $2200.  The primary reason for this selection was that the Maxwell gypsy is marketed to handle boat chain and rope rode.  Both Maxwell and Lofrans windlasses have rope drums on the port side.  But the Lofrans can only retrieve chain rode on the starboard side.  Additionally, the Maxwell HRC 10-8 model was rated at 1000W, while the Lofrans motor is rated at 1500W.  While the Lofrans may have more pulling power, the Maxwell would put less electrical burden on the boat's wiring and batteries.

Once the Nilsson was removed, a plate of starboard was cut and drilled to sit the Maxwell on, and cover the prior holes from the Nilsson.  The wiring connections were mocked up in the forward cabin to test the windlass operation prior to mounting.  Once the starboard base was completed, and verifie to fit the windlass, the base was secured to the windlass box with Lifecaulk sealant and screws.  The holes in the starboard base were then used to guide drilling of the new mounting holes into the box top.  A hole saw was used to drill the hawse hole and center hold in the top of the box.  Unfortunately, the thickness of the wood was about 3".  As the deepest hole saw that could be located was also only 3 inches tall, it was not able to completely cut through the box in a single operation.  The hole was started from the top, and then the drill has to be moved inside the box to complete the cut.  The deck thickness where the windlass box was mounted was found to be about 4" of teak.  This was a significant challenge to drill through with a 3" deep hole saw.  Hacking with additional drill bits and a chisel were required to eventually complete the hole, as there was not sufficient space to drill up from under the deck.  Finally, a new  2' long x 2" PVC hawse pipe was installed from the top of the windlass box down into the chain locker.

A wireless remote switch system was ordered on Amazon for about $20.  The wireless remote has a receiver box that ties into the windlass.  The receiver box requires +/- 12V power, and provides a wire for "up" and a wire for "down", which can be tied in parallel to the foot or panel switches.  Two remote controls were shipped with the box.  The only drawback to this purchase is that the remotes require a somewhat unique 12V battery (type 123 alkaline 12V battery).