Why a manual windlass?
About sixteen years ago when my “new to me” 1987, E32-3 was looked over by a marine surveyor he said, “What this boat needs is a windlass.” Over the years that followed I looked at many a sailing web site, but mostly this one, exploring ways of installing a windlass on my Ericson but I soon realized that it wasn’t going to be easy. A proper location for a windlass, of any kind, on our Ericson yachts seems to have been neglected when they were designed. I can only assume that was because boats like my E32 were considered “racer / cruisers” with racing being more important than cruising and anchoring. Or maybe back in the 80’s they thought that the boats would only be owned and crewed by strong, young sailors who would have no trouble at all pulling up a chain/rope rode hand over hand without breaking a sweat. They probably weren’t thinking about the “baby-boomers” like me, who would still be sailing “vintage” Ericsons.
The only provisions made for anchoring on my boat, and many other E-boats, consists of a narrow bow roller and a triangular shaped, plastic molded anchor locker covered with a locker door (which delaminated years ago requiring me to rebuild and reenforce it) to store the rode. I call it “the bucket” because that’s what it basically is considering it has no substantial inside interior walls that would be strong enough for any sort of windlass support. The only solution to having a windlass, electric or manual, in the locker would be to remove “the bucket” and then make a new anchor locker and/or make modifications to the locker door both of which have been done and well documented on this EYO web site. My hat is off to those that have taken on that challenge.
During my research into installing a windlass I first had to ask myself why do I want or need one? After all I’m at least an adequate sailor who can solo a E32 and I’ve done my share of anchoring too but I had to consider the “age factor”. Not the sailboat’s - but MINE!
As I write this I’m approaching my 71st birthday. Considering my age I’m very lucky to be in fairly good shape and this can be confirmed by my many doctors, all of which I’ve collected like baseball cards, and since I’m a walking, talking annuity for them they want to keep me healthy and alive. But still I’m not the sailor I once was years ago and time has taken it’s toll in as much as when I break or strain something by way of bodily exertion or just plain bad luck I don’t bounce back as quick as I use to so I take care to watch myself.
Weighing an anchor out of the sticky mud of the Chesapeake Bay, where I sail, can be daunting especially if the wind is up. Yes you can have someone at the helm motor up on the rode to counteract the effects of the wind but that 45 feet of chain, loaded with dark and sticky Chesapeake mud, can get quite heavy and messy. No sense pulling my back out or something worse in the process so help, in the way of a windlass, is needed.
The second thing I considered was how often do I anchor. For the most part I day sail out of Annapolis or sail to other marina’s on the bay where I’ll spend a night or two in a transient slip so in either case there’s no anchoring. Last year I purchased a new inflatable dinghy with electric outboard so I’m expecting to anchor more often but I think that I’ll still do the majority of my overnight stays away from my home dock in a transient slip as opposed to dropping the hook someplace for the night. It’ll depend on the whims of the admiral (wife) and weather. August nights on the Chesapeake Bay can get down right sultry and having an AC on board, run off of dock power, is almost a requirement especially for us “seasoned sailors”.
Selecting a Windlass
So considering the frequency of my anchoring I concluded that installing an electric windlass seemed like too much to spend, in time ,money and aggravation. However a manual windlass costs less the an electric one, there is no extra battery or heavy duty cables to run from the house batteries, no solenoid, no foot switches and no extensive modifications to the anchor locker space because I could mount a HORIZONTAL windlass on the foredeck just behind the anchor locker door. Also manual windlasses are far more reliable than their electric cousins and much easier to install.
(Left) Positioning the windlass on deck. Note the offset so that the center of the chain gypsy and center of the anchor roller line up. The 3-1/8" offset of the chain gypsy from the center of the windlass body moves the windlass off to the port side. (Right) Over-sized mounting holes drilled but not yet filled with epoxy that would be allowed to harden and then re-drilled with a smaller, properly sized hole for the 3/8" diameter bolts. This creates an epoxy barrier in the hole to prevent water intrusion and balsa core damage.
I sail exclusively on the Chesapeake Bay which is a relatively easier place to anchor as opposed to the Caribbean because there are no coral reefs or rocks to snag the anchor rode. Most of the bay has a muddy bottom so most sailboats there have a combination rope and chain rode as opposed to all chain. No horizontal manual windlass, to my knowledge, can handle a combination rope and chain rode. There are electric windlasses that can, of course, but I’m referring to manual horizontal windlasses only and one in particular. The Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass ( https://www.lofrans.com/product/71-horizontal-windlasses/5015-royal ).
Making It Work on an Ericson
I bought the Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass, from Bacon Sails & Marine Supplies ( https://baconsails.com ) in Annapolis, Maryland, for $1,500 which included MD sales tax. I thought that it was a good price and the staff at Bacon are very helpful too. I also had to purchase a new rope/chain, (5/16" G4 Acco chain). Although anchor chains may look alike they are not. So it is important to match the chain with the gypsy. In my case I had to also purchase a new rope/ chain (40 feet of 5/16" G4 Acco chain) to match the gypsy on my new windlass. I also purchased a new Lewmar stainless steel anchor shackle for $60 ( https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--stainless-anchor-swivel-1-4-5-16--18554014?recordNum=2 ) because it was the only one that would work with the narrow anchor roller on my E32-3.
The Lofrans Royal is designed to be mounted on deck next to a hawse pipe that would lead the chain into a locker. As mentioned before, I didn’t want do that because of the modifications that I would need to make to the chain locker and maybe the door.
So, instead I raised the windlass off the deck with a 2” thick x 5-3/8” wide x 9-3/8” long block of teak which gave the chain more clearance to drop towards the deck after it passed the chain separator (on the windlass) and then it could be lead forward towards the locker. I bought the teak from another local Annapolis supplier called Exotic Lumber ( https://www.exoticlumber.com) which has a sort of discount section in their store with a selection of short, various shaped, different species wood blocks where I found what I needed for just $35!
Below deck and up in the front of the v-birth I used a 1/4 inch aluminum backing plate, purchased on Amazon ($20) and four 3/8”-16 Hex Head x 4-1/2” long bolts, washers, and nylon insert lock nuts - all stainless steel, of course. Copious amounts of butyl tape were used between the base of the windlass and the teak block and between the block and the deck.
In the anchor locker I added a small Lewmar fairlead anchor roller for $37.99 from West Marine ( https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--small-fairlead-anchor-roller--9397142?recordNum=16 ) which I mounted onto another small block of teak which happened to be what I cut off of the larger block I used under the windlass. It was the perfect size for my needs and proof that sometimes you do get lucky.
This block/anchor roller assembly was mounted with the roller pointing up, in line with the chain gypsy and 1/4” below the bottom of the anchor locker door. As the chain comes off of the gypsy it’s lead over the roller which helps keep most of it off the deck and the weight of the chain pulls the rest of it into the locker as I crank in the chain rode. It does hit the edge of the locker opening a bit which I covered with “No-Wear Chafe Guard” ( https://www.nowearguard.com ) a sort of stick-on rub strake that will bend around corners. I’ve also used it in the cockpit where I was getting some chafing on the combings from the roller furler line.
As for the rope part of the rode, it won’t work on the chain gypsy but I usually can pull this part in by hand with little exertion or I can bring it around the snubbing hook at the rear of the windlass and wrap it around the capstan to crank it in till I get to the chain where I’ll transfer the rode to the chain gypsy.
Finishing Touches
I added two other things to make this manual windlass project complete. First I needed a place to store the windlass lever and what better place then in the anchor locker. So I bought a short length of 1 inch diameter, schedule 40, PVC pipe - cut it to a length to accommodate the lever and mounted it in the locker where I can easily retrieve and store it.
Second, I wanted to keep the windlass protected from the elements and do something to help keep the genoa sheets from snagging on it. So I contacted Standout Yacht Fittings ( https://standoutyachtfittings.com ) to make a Sunbrella cover to go over it and the cost was just $89. They have patterns for Lofrans windlasses, along with other brands, but mine was mounted on a block of teak. So I provided them with photos and dimensions of the final installation and they tailored the cover to fit over the windlass and block of teak along with snaps to keep it in place. I’ll update this blog with a photo of the cover after it comes in.
As with all improvements on our boats only time will tell as to how useful they turn out to be but I’m very happy and hopeful with the improvements I made to weighing anchor on my Ericson 32-3. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and I hope it helps anyone who's considering a manual windlass.
UPDATE: Windlass cover arrived from Standout Yacht Fittings just in time for the next trip to the boat. Also installed the lever holder in the anchor locker.
YouTube Demo Video
Here is a video of the Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass in action on my boat.
About sixteen years ago when my “new to me” 1987, E32-3 was looked over by a marine surveyor he said, “What this boat needs is a windlass.” Over the years that followed I looked at many a sailing web site, but mostly this one, exploring ways of installing a windlass on my Ericson but I soon realized that it wasn’t going to be easy. A proper location for a windlass, of any kind, on our Ericson yachts seems to have been neglected when they were designed. I can only assume that was because boats like my E32 were considered “racer / cruisers” with racing being more important than cruising and anchoring. Or maybe back in the 80’s they thought that the boats would only be owned and crewed by strong, young sailors who would have no trouble at all pulling up a chain/rope rode hand over hand without breaking a sweat. They probably weren’t thinking about the “baby-boomers” like me, who would still be sailing “vintage” Ericsons.
The only provisions made for anchoring on my boat, and many other E-boats, consists of a narrow bow roller and a triangular shaped, plastic molded anchor locker covered with a locker door (which delaminated years ago requiring me to rebuild and reenforce it) to store the rode. I call it “the bucket” because that’s what it basically is considering it has no substantial inside interior walls that would be strong enough for any sort of windlass support. The only solution to having a windlass, electric or manual, in the locker would be to remove “the bucket” and then make a new anchor locker and/or make modifications to the locker door both of which have been done and well documented on this EYO web site. My hat is off to those that have taken on that challenge.
As I write this I’m approaching my 71st birthday. Considering my age I’m very lucky to be in fairly good shape and this can be confirmed by my many doctors, all of which I’ve collected like baseball cards, and since I’m a walking, talking annuity for them they want to keep me healthy and alive. But still I’m not the sailor I once was years ago and time has taken it’s toll in as much as when I break or strain something by way of bodily exertion or just plain bad luck I don’t bounce back as quick as I use to so I take care to watch myself.
Weighing an anchor out of the sticky mud of the Chesapeake Bay, where I sail, can be daunting especially if the wind is up. Yes you can have someone at the helm motor up on the rode to counteract the effects of the wind but that 45 feet of chain, loaded with dark and sticky Chesapeake mud, can get quite heavy and messy. No sense pulling my back out or something worse in the process so help, in the way of a windlass, is needed.
The second thing I considered was how often do I anchor. For the most part I day sail out of Annapolis or sail to other marina’s on the bay where I’ll spend a night or two in a transient slip so in either case there’s no anchoring. Last year I purchased a new inflatable dinghy with electric outboard so I’m expecting to anchor more often but I think that I’ll still do the majority of my overnight stays away from my home dock in a transient slip as opposed to dropping the hook someplace for the night. It’ll depend on the whims of the admiral (wife) and weather. August nights on the Chesapeake Bay can get down right sultry and having an AC on board, run off of dock power, is almost a requirement especially for us “seasoned sailors”.
Selecting a Windlass
So considering the frequency of my anchoring I concluded that installing an electric windlass seemed like too much to spend, in time ,money and aggravation. However a manual windlass costs less the an electric one, there is no extra battery or heavy duty cables to run from the house batteries, no solenoid, no foot switches and no extensive modifications to the anchor locker space because I could mount a HORIZONTAL windlass on the foredeck just behind the anchor locker door. Also manual windlasses are far more reliable than their electric cousins and much easier to install.
(Left) Positioning the windlass on deck. Note the offset so that the center of the chain gypsy and center of the anchor roller line up. The 3-1/8" offset of the chain gypsy from the center of the windlass body moves the windlass off to the port side. (Right) Over-sized mounting holes drilled but not yet filled with epoxy that would be allowed to harden and then re-drilled with a smaller, properly sized hole for the 3/8" diameter bolts. This creates an epoxy barrier in the hole to prevent water intrusion and balsa core damage.
I sail exclusively on the Chesapeake Bay which is a relatively easier place to anchor as opposed to the Caribbean because there are no coral reefs or rocks to snag the anchor rode. Most of the bay has a muddy bottom so most sailboats there have a combination rope and chain rode as opposed to all chain. No horizontal manual windlass, to my knowledge, can handle a combination rope and chain rode. There are electric windlasses that can, of course, but I’m referring to manual horizontal windlasses only and one in particular. The Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass ( https://www.lofrans.com/product/71-horizontal-windlasses/5015-royal ).
Making It Work on an Ericson
I bought the Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass, from Bacon Sails & Marine Supplies ( https://baconsails.com ) in Annapolis, Maryland, for $1,500 which included MD sales tax. I thought that it was a good price and the staff at Bacon are very helpful too. I also had to purchase a new rope/chain, (5/16" G4 Acco chain). Although anchor chains may look alike they are not. So it is important to match the chain with the gypsy. In my case I had to also purchase a new rope/ chain (40 feet of 5/16" G4 Acco chain) to match the gypsy on my new windlass. I also purchased a new Lewmar stainless steel anchor shackle for $60 ( https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--stainless-anchor-swivel-1-4-5-16--18554014?recordNum=2 ) because it was the only one that would work with the narrow anchor roller on my E32-3.
The Lofrans Royal is designed to be mounted on deck next to a hawse pipe that would lead the chain into a locker. As mentioned before, I didn’t want do that because of the modifications that I would need to make to the chain locker and maybe the door.
So, instead I raised the windlass off the deck with a 2” thick x 5-3/8” wide x 9-3/8” long block of teak which gave the chain more clearance to drop towards the deck after it passed the chain separator (on the windlass) and then it could be lead forward towards the locker. I bought the teak from another local Annapolis supplier called Exotic Lumber ( https://www.exoticlumber.com) which has a sort of discount section in their store with a selection of short, various shaped, different species wood blocks where I found what I needed for just $35!
Below deck and up in the front of the v-birth I used a 1/4 inch aluminum backing plate, purchased on Amazon ($20) and four 3/8”-16 Hex Head x 4-1/2” long bolts, washers, and nylon insert lock nuts - all stainless steel, of course. Copious amounts of butyl tape were used between the base of the windlass and the teak block and between the block and the deck.
In the anchor locker I added a small Lewmar fairlead anchor roller for $37.99 from West Marine ( https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--small-fairlead-anchor-roller--9397142?recordNum=16 ) which I mounted onto another small block of teak which happened to be what I cut off of the larger block I used under the windlass. It was the perfect size for my needs and proof that sometimes you do get lucky.
This block/anchor roller assembly was mounted with the roller pointing up, in line with the chain gypsy and 1/4” below the bottom of the anchor locker door. As the chain comes off of the gypsy it’s lead over the roller which helps keep most of it off the deck and the weight of the chain pulls the rest of it into the locker as I crank in the chain rode. It does hit the edge of the locker opening a bit which I covered with “No-Wear Chafe Guard” ( https://www.nowearguard.com ) a sort of stick-on rub strake that will bend around corners. I’ve also used it in the cockpit where I was getting some chafing on the combings from the roller furler line.
As for the rope part of the rode, it won’t work on the chain gypsy but I usually can pull this part in by hand with little exertion or I can bring it around the snubbing hook at the rear of the windlass and wrap it around the capstan to crank it in till I get to the chain where I’ll transfer the rode to the chain gypsy.
Finishing Touches
I added two other things to make this manual windlass project complete. First I needed a place to store the windlass lever and what better place then in the anchor locker. So I bought a short length of 1 inch diameter, schedule 40, PVC pipe - cut it to a length to accommodate the lever and mounted it in the locker where I can easily retrieve and store it.
Second, I wanted to keep the windlass protected from the elements and do something to help keep the genoa sheets from snagging on it. So I contacted Standout Yacht Fittings ( https://standoutyachtfittings.com ) to make a Sunbrella cover to go over it and the cost was just $89. They have patterns for Lofrans windlasses, along with other brands, but mine was mounted on a block of teak. So I provided them with photos and dimensions of the final installation and they tailored the cover to fit over the windlass and block of teak along with snaps to keep it in place. I’ll update this blog with a photo of the cover after it comes in.
As with all improvements on our boats only time will tell as to how useful they turn out to be but I’m very happy and hopeful with the improvements I made to weighing anchor on my Ericson 32-3. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and I hope it helps anyone who's considering a manual windlass.
UPDATE: Windlass cover arrived from Standout Yacht Fittings just in time for the next trip to the boat. Also installed the lever holder in the anchor locker.
YouTube Demo Video
Here is a video of the Lofrans Royal Manual Windlass in action on my boat.
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