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We started with the Simpson Lawrence 555 manual windlass that came with our boat. We completely refurbished it and it worked like new. But cruisers without an electric windlass tend to anchor in shallower water and often use less scope so that it will be easier to retrieve their anchor. This combination can spell disaster.
Our boat came with an old Simpson Lawrence Sea Tiger 555. It was in rough shape, but still kind of worked. We were dead set on replacing it with an electric windlass, but when we made our budget for all the projects an electric windlass was one of the more expensive items and was one we thought we could cut from the list. So instead we refurbished the SL555 and now it’s almost as good as new.
Our boat came with about 62 feet of chain and 320 feet of rode. We’re eventually going to change that to 250 feet or so of chain. It also came with a 45 lb. CQR and a 25 lb. CQR. We’re going to keep the 45 lb. as a secondary anchor, but we bought a 55 lb. Rocna Vulcan as our primary anchor. We’re not sure what we’re going to do with the 25 lb. CQR, but we’re going to get a 15 lb. Fortress for a stern anchor.
We bought a half barrel (275 feet) of 5/16 G4 chain to replace all our old chain and rode. Rich decided to spray paint the chain in 25’ intervals. We also got rid of the 45 lb. CQR so right now we only have one anchor. We’re still planning to get a small Fortress as a stern anchor, but we’re not sure about a second anchor at the bow.
The other thing we’re kicking around is getting an electric windlass. The 555 works fine, but it’s a lot of work to pull in just the short amounts of the chain we’ve deployed here in the delta.
The other thing we need to change is the chain snubber. Right now we just use a spare dock line that we run back to the two cleats near the bow. It works fine, but it’s a little difficult to set up.
We bought a half barrel (275 feet) of 5/16 G4 chain to replace all our old chain and rode. Rich decided to spray paint the chain in 25’ intervals. We also got rid of the 45 lb. CQR so right now we only have one anchor. We’re still planning to get a small Fortress as a stern anchor, but we’re not sure about a second anchor at the bow.
The other thing we’re kicking around is getting an electric windlass. The 555 works fine, but it’s a lot of work to pull in just the short amounts of the chain we’ve deployed here in the delta.
The other thing we need to change is the chain snubber. Right now we just use a spare dock line that we run back to the two cleats near the bow. It works fine, but it’s a little difficult to set up.
The allure of easy anchor retrieval and reduced physical strain prompted us to shop for an electric windlass. Carolyn Shearlock has said that an electric windlass is an essential piece of safety equipment on a cruising sailboat.
Cruisers without an electric windlass tend to anchor in shallower water and often use less scope so that it will be easier to retrieve their anchor. This combination means that they:
