Anchor winches. The most common issues and how to resolve them.

One of the most frequent calls to the service department is related to anchor winches.

Mostly the message is “it doesn't work” or “it was working and now doesn't”. I will go out on a limb and say that a very high proportion is due to user error, that said, boat builders are not entirely blameless and there are major complaints about them.

I would like to say this is not an essay on how to anchor your boat, you should learn how to do this by practicing, do a course or go boating with someone experienced who can show you how.

User error, common mistakes made by both novices and seasoned salts alike.

Not starting the engine first

Anchor winches draw a fair amount of current (amps), please make sure your engine will start before pulling up the anchor, it is rare that this one actually happens but it would not be the first or the last time we get that call, if your motor doesn't start (usually due to running the batteries too low), at least the anchor will help to hold you in place and you won´t be drifting.

Tripping the breaker

The breaker is there for overcurrent protection, so when the anchor winch motor draws too much current (measured in amps) the breaker will trip, protecting the cables and winch motor, so what causes this? In my experience, using the anchor winch to drag the boat, the winch is not designed to do that, it´s designed to raise and lower the anchor and chain, not haul the boat forwards. "Breaker breaker", calling the marine support department.

Two different types of windlass breaker, note the clear label on the left

On the subject of the breaker (and this is a bugbear of mine), many operators simply do not know where it is, usually they are located near the batteries or battery switches, find out where yours is, also boatbuilders do not always do any favors for their clients, a list of sins includes;

• Hiding the breaker only Poseidon knows where, whereby you have to be a contortionist to get to it and will likely hurt or burn yourself in the process. Only this very week we had an hour long game of "If I were an anchor breaker where would I be". It was in a logical location on board but hidden behind a panel that needed tools to open, not good.

• Installing fuses instead of breakers, although a fuse is fine, as long as its in an easy to access place and also if there are spares on board, a resettable breaker is much more convenient, these things never happen at a good time, so searching around for tools and fuses just adds to the problem.

Tighter than the nuts on a submarine

The top of the winch has a star shaped nut, winches are supplied with a key or wrench purpose made to fit into that nut. The nut is not meant to be used to haul in the anchor manually, it is meant to tighten the clutch between the electric winch motor and top part of the winch (drive cap) that moves the anchor chain in or out (called a gypsy), please note some are handed, so “righty tighty, lefty loosey” is reversed, left to tighten and right to loosen, the point being that this center nut does not have to be that tight, just enough so that the gypsy does not slip. If the center is tightened too much a lot of pressure is put on the motor and so the breaker trips and excessive strain is placed on the clutch and motor.

Anchor winch and handle, do not overtighten

Some larger boats may have an anchor winch that can be used to pull ropes also, this part replaces the top or drive cap and is called a capstan or warping drum. Depending on the design of the winch, it might have a brake you need to engage to stop the gypsy from moving, others need the center nut loosening off.

Maintenance

All things mechanical or electrical on a boat need some maintenance at some point, anchor winches are no different, that said, the maintenance is quite often a lot less than you think, some have bearings that require greasing, I also would like to point out that poor maintenance in my experience is probably the least cause for problems with winches, more often lack of use causes the motors to play up.

Boat builders

You should do better, the same errors year after year

I would like to know what happens at the boat builders, does anybody who actually uses a boat or has any experience using the end product get a say in things? With the amount of feedback, warranty claims, complaints and customer surveys you would think these creases would have been ironed out by now, but alas no.

Until the bitter end

You might have heard the expression “until the bitter end”, it has its origins in boats. The bitter end is the term used for the last piece of the chain or rope that holds the anchor line or rode to the the boat.

Why you should know this? Well let´s say that you get your anchor stuck, really stuck and cannot free it, you are going to have to cut the anchor line, now imagine that the boat builder has used a shackle, I don´t care how stainless it was, unless you are absolutely sure you can reach it to undo it (and have checked it) I will bet money on it being a seized and rusty mess, so a nuisance issue has now become a potential problem, stuck anchors are never a good situation, now the added stress of not being able to let it go. The bitter end should be rope so it can either be untied or cut.

Shove it all in the locker

This is twofold, starting with the errors on the part of the boatbuilders, anchor chain has to have a minimum drop otherwise the chain heaps up and gets stuck under the winch, furthermore I have seen too many boats where access to the anchor chain locker is too difficult. There might be a reason for this, in case of a collision a solid bulkhead or minimum structural strength requirement, and in the case of smaller boats they are playing with limited space, but that doesn't detract from the fundamental flaw of the locker being too small or poorly shaped.

Second fault of the boatbuilders, installing a lot of things in the anchor locker, examples, shower hoses, the anchor winch control box (solenoids), wiring strung all over the place, horns, all of these things are waiting to either get in the way or get tangled up in the anchor line. Also on this note, anchor lockers are habitually damp environments, fitting the control boxes there does no good for their life expectation, then if the box needs replacing, especially in a hard to access anchor locker will not make life easy, nor will it lower the technicians invoice.

I will concede is that some boatbuilders simply hit it out of the park when it comes anchor lockers, Ferretti and Solaris are two that come to mind, remember these are normally larger boats, but they have designed the lockers to be practical and actually have places installed at the factory for hanging ropes and fenders.

A beautifully finished anchor locker on a Solaris Power 40

If your boat is not well designed or proportioned, please don´t store all manner of things in the anchor locker, you can overcome this a bit by using divers net bags for ropes and then remove them when the winch is in use, but trust me, people forget what´s in the anchor locker and then it all becomes an entangled mess.

It drains you

Anchor lockers need drains, not only to allow any water brought up from the anchor line but also from washing and rain, please check them regularly, especially if you have been anchoring in mud. Anchor locker drains generally drain straight over the side of the boat, you could have more than one, sometimes they have a clamshell fixture on the exterior of the hull, other times they are just straight holes. I was on a Chris Craft recently fixing an anchor winch issue and noticed the drain went into the bilge and not directly overboard. Drains must be clear, the water that may end up standing in the anchor locker will find another way out, I have seen bulkheads rotted due to lack of drainage. Water stains and stale smells are other tell tale signs of insufficient drainage.

Anchor locker drains

Designer anchors

In my opinion we have pretty much reached the pinnacle of anchor design, oh sure from time to time new ones come along but mostly a variation on an already existing theme, there is no need to build a better mousetrap. I have noticed a dearth of new designer anchors, made specifically for certain models of boats, I have not heard any negative comments on the holding power of these anchors and indeed some of them are serious works of art, the thing that occurs to me, based on some experience with this, if you need to replace that anchor for any reason, it will have to come from the boat builder or their supplier rather than from a distributor for the known brands and models of anchors which could mean delays and the inevitable price over a standard type of anchor.

Top right, Bruce anchor,
  top left, Delta,
Bottom, designer anchor on a Frauscher

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. Please feel free to follow me on social media.