Capstan, What size for my 45' conv.

[George]

OK, Struggling here
I have a windless which is rotted out. I want to replace with a capstan. I anchor in over 600 feet of water and need a unit which is fast, not to big and ugly. Any recommendations? manufacturer, size etc.?
Thanks

 

[REBrueckner]

With rope, depth is not much of a factor as weight in water is pretty neutral; with chain it gets to be weighty at 600 ft depths plus scope...
If rope, a 500 lb pull or so is likely ok, bigger could be better...with chain, figure anchor weight plus chain...and plenty of margin....you'll need a LOT more....

 

[NAN-PO 41]

If you are anchoring in 600 feet then a windlass is not the way to go. When we anchor in deep water we ball the anchor. you just put a steel ring on the anchor rode, a Gloucester ball on the ring tie the rode to a stern cleat and power the boat around the anchor spot and then straight away from the anchor. The ball will slide down the rode until it is directly over the anchor. At that point the anchor tries to pull the ball under. It can't do that so the rode slides up through the ring until the stock of the anchor pulls through the ring. You know when this happens because the ball starts to follow the boat. Then you just stop the boat and pull in the now floating anchor and slack anchor rode. We don't even store the anchor and rode but coil it into a fish box in the cockpit. It is quick and easy and is how the commercial tuna fishermen anchor up here in the Northeast.
Fred

 

[Genesis]

Uh, that will not work with a chain rode (the lift of the ball required would be, well, more than a bit larger than you'd be willing to carry)

It DOES work well for a rode setup; I use exactly that device on my small boat to pull the anchor and it works.

 

[NAN-PO 41]

Genesis is correct. That system will not work with a chain rode. I guess I assumed that in 600 ft of water you would be anchored up to fish not sleep and a rope rode would be much easier to deal with. An all chain rode for that depth would be a lot of weight in the bow of the boat and if you lost the windlass you would never be able to get it up. Also a rope rode would give you the option of dropping the anchor on a buoy if you hooked a once in a lifetime fish and needed to manuver the boat to fight it. Here in the Northeast we have to drop off the anchor regularly when Tuna fishing to avoid the other boats that are anchored up on the bank. It is kind of like fishing in the middle of the CDR some days. We hook the anchor rode to the boat with a pelican hook with a ball tied to the end of the rode. Release the hook and you are free of the anchor and it is buoyed off. Of course this is all supposition as I don't know the exact circumstances involved.
Fred

 

[George]

If you are anchoring in 600 feet then a windlass is not the way to go. When we anchor in deep water we ball the anchor. you just put a steel ring on the anchor rode, a Gloucester ball on the ring tie the rode to a stern cleat and power the boat around the anchor spot and then straight away from the anchor. The ball will slide down the rode until it is directly over the anchor. At that point the anchor tries to pull the ball under. It can't do that so the rode slides up through the ring until the stock of the anchor pulls through the ring. You know when this happens because the ball starts to follow the boat. Then you just stop the boat and pull in the now floating anchor and slack anchor rode. We don't even store the anchor and rode but coil it into a fish box in the cockpit. It is quick and easy and is how the commercial tuna fishermen anchor up here in the Northeast.
Fred

Thanks Nan Po. Do that now, when anchoring deep.

 

[George]

I'm using about 15' of chain. maybe I should re-clarify. I use the ball technique in the deep water and just pull the rope back onto the deck and manually pull it into the rope locker. The nice part about not having the windless, is the speed of deployment of an anchor with the rope free flowing from the locker. It is a PIA to get it back into the locker, but this only happens a few times a season. I do want the ability to get off the hook, but at the same time, for shallower events, have a unit capable of the weight and have good speed to retrieve and is easy to keep clean. if you can recommend a manufacturer, and model, that would really be appreciated.

 

[NAN-PO 41]

George,
We keep 3 anchor rodes. 2 are in the chain locker with a Plow and a Danforth on the pulpit and we use them with the windlass when anchoring in shallow water. The third one which is complete with anchor is kept in fish boxes and we set it from the cockpit when fishing in the deep water. We only put the deep anchor on the boat when we are going to use it. That way it only takes up space on the run in and out, we don't have to fight a lot of rope into the chain locker and no one has to spend a lot of time on the fwd deck out at sea.
We have an Ideal windlass and are happy with it. It is an older one and I can't speak for their newer products.
Fred