You’ve had a great day on the water and are ready to drop the hook in a secluded anchorage. You release the anchor pin and toe the windlass-down foot switch, but nothing happens.

The windlass worked fine the last time you ran it. This time, you’re stuck releasing the gypsy manually and adding some braking to the plunging chain. Once the anchor is set, it’s time to do some troubleshooting so you won’t have to pull the rode back in by hand tomorrow morning.

The Basics

Back in the early days of sail, a windlass was a rotating wood drum with pawls that would let it turn only in one direction. Later, the windlass (or capstan) was made vertical so men could walk around it, pushing on bars to increase the leverage. On a big ship, this task could require a large portion of the crew.

On bigger ships, the rode diameter became too thick to wind around the capstan. To solve this problem, an endless line was run around the capstan and to a block or roller mounted several yards away. The rode would be temporarily tied to the endless line with several short, small lines called nips. As the men stomped around the capstan (often while singing a sea shanty), the ship’s boys would wait until the line was ready to turn below to the lower deck, and then untie the lines, run back to the start and retie the lines on a new section of rode. That’s why the young boys on the ship were called nippers.

Fortunately, our windlasses today can be set up for one-person operation. There are several styles suited for most applications. They can be divided between horizontal or vertical. They can be manually operated, electric or hydraulic. They can be power-up only or power-up and power-down. They can have a drum for rope or a gypsy for chain, a combination rope/chain gypsy or a captive drum that spools the rode abovedeck. Most horizontal windlasses will have their motors abovedeck in the windlass case, while vertical windlasses tend to have their motors located belowdecks with the gypsy/drum above.

Taking Care

Because of where they live, windlasses require periodic maintenance. This is usually a disassembly, cleaning and greasing of specific parts. If the unit contains oil, then it periodically needs to be checked and replaced. Clutch gaskets, if fitted, can also compress over time and may need replacement. More frequently, all electrical connections should be checked for corrosion and tightness.

Problems can occur from misuse. Windlasses are not meant to pull a boat toward a set anchor, and certainly not against bucking waves. The engine should be used to lighten the load on the windlass, bumping the boat forward and then taking up the slack in the rode. This burst approach also benefits the windlass motor, giving it a chance to rest and shed some heat. When the rode becomes straight up and down, pause and let the weight of the boat help turn the anchor and release it from the suction of the seabed. Once the anchor is free from the bottom, raise it in bursts so that the chain has a chance to unwind if necessary. You can use this time to wash any muck from the chain, to keep it from fouling your anchor locker.

If your chain jumps from the gypsy, the gypsy may be worn, or the chain may be the wrong size. Each chain link should be marked with numbers or letters. This tells you the style and strength. Measuring existing chain to match a gypsy can be challenging. There are several types of anchor chain: BBB (or 3B) and Proof Coil are G3 (Grade 28 or 30) alloy, and High-Test is G4 (Grade 40 or 43) alloy. Most of these are produced in standard or metric, often with just enough difference to make a chain jump. The higher the grade, the stronger the alloy. Typically, the chain is measured (with calipers) by the diameter of the wire and the inside coil dimensions. Chain manufacturers have most chain sizes listed on their websites. Gypsies should have their size stamped or cast into them (sometimes underneath, where they have to be removed to be seen).

The windlass should not be used to hold the load while anchoring. Instead, once an anchor is set, use a snubber for chain or move the rode to a bow cleat. For chain rode, a snubber is a stretchy line, usually three-strand, about 20 feet long. It is either tied to the chain with a rolling hitch, or a chain hook is used. Chain hooks can fall out of the chain unless they have a safety hook, or unless a light line is used for a keeper. Once the snubber is attached and then let out toward the water, leaving some slack in the main rode, it is tied off on a bow cleat. This way, as the rode gets tight, the snubber can stretch and take the load in a gentler way than the metal chain can.

Make It Strong

Even though the windlass isn’t meant to carry all the load, it still must be stoutly attached to the foredeck or bow platform. Most fiberglass boats will have cored decks or bow platforms. If this coring gets wet and is made of wood, it can become soft and will need replacement. Once the coring is corrupted, the thin fiberglass skins may not have the strength to resist anchoring strains. Check periodically under your windlass for signs of brown water stains. They indicate that water may be getting into the core. If you suspect this, remove the windlass and inspect the cutouts and holes. Bare core is a bad sign.

A properly prepared deck requires oversizing the holes, taping the underdeck, filling the holes with thickened epoxy, and then redrilling the properly sized holes. For the larger holes—rode, motor shaft or foot-switches pass—remove about three-eighths of an inch of core and then backfill the area with thickened epoxy. The idea is that any sealant leakage would send water down the fastener and out the bottom, not into the deck coring. The cured epoxy also resists deck compression.

The windlass should also have a substantial sheet backing plate (metal or fiberglass) under the deck. Fiberglass sheet like GPO3 or G10 is favored because it is inert, and machines easily like wood. King StarBoard, while great for many uses like a deck chain chafe guard, is not suitable for a backing plate because highly loaded fasteners can pull through or cause it to compress and bend.

A True Path

The track the chain takes is critical as it leaves the anchor roller and turns to drop below. Windlass manufacturers state how much of a wrap the chain must have around the gypsy, and how much deviation in chain angle is acceptable between the roller and windlass. These requirements might mean that the windlass needs to be installed offset on the foredeck, or be mounted on a pedestal.

Below, make sure the rode has a fair drop to the anchor locker. If the locker is split and there are two rodes, check that both rodes drop fairly. Narrow and tall lockers can cause the chain to stack or castle, which can cause jamming. Some installations require a well-supported chute to be built, to move the rode farther aft. PVC pipe can work well for this. One method is to split the pipe longitudinally and then use Velcro to secure it back together so any jams in the pipe can be easily freed. There will also need to be a strong point in the anchor locker to attach the bitter end of the anchor rode. This needs to be as strong as a deck cleat in case the rode ever accidentally runs free and stops up quick. Through-bolted pad eyes, eye bolts or U-bolts all would work.

Along those lines, for all chain rode, it is good to have a length of three-strand rope, called a cutaway, spliced to the end link. This cutaway should be long enough for the rope to reach up out of the anchor locker and into the roller. It would be tied in a bowline to the strong point in the anchor locker and have a rope-to-chain splice at the chain connection. The idea is that you can cut the line from the deck if it’s ever necessary to leave an anchorage quickly. The cutaway also could be tied to a fender or buoy, to be picked up later.

Back up on deck, make sure there is some way to secure the anchor when it is in the roller, other than the wrap on the gypsy. Bouncing seas have caused more than one anchor to come unshipped. The fastener can be as simple as a light line seizing the chain to a stanchion, or a metal chain tensioner, or a pin.

Troubleshooting

A multimeter can be handy here. It is necessary to be sure that power is getting to the windlass motor. Start at the battery that supplies the windlass. It should be showing over system voltage (12, 24, 32 etc.). There should be a breaker for the windlass supply located close to the battery or battery switch. Check for voltage on the input and output cables. If that looks good, then head to the windlass.

DC windlass motors typically use a device called a contactor or relay (an electrical/mechanical switch) to actuate the windlass from the smaller wires of the control switch. Windlasses that can power both up and down use relays to reverse the direction of the motor. The windlass foot switches will be wired to the relay box in order to trigger the relay to connect in the desired direction. Relays and switches can live in some particularly damp environments; depending on the efforts the manufacturer took to keep them waterproof, they may be compromised. Relay contacts can also fail from normal arcing over time.

Some relays are built into the windlass case, while others are in standalone boxes. Either way, access is needed to wherever the windlass supply is connected, to be able to check that there’s good battery voltage on the input.

Have your mate step on the windlass foot switch while checking the output on the relay switch. Do you hear a click as the relay connects? If not, there may be a problem with the foot switch. Try swapping the wiring from one switch to the other, or connect the wiring at the switch with a jumper wire. If that makes the windlass run, you’re in business. If not, then the solenoid may have failed. Sometimes, a light tap as the relay is being actuated may offer a little more life, but ultimately, it will need to be replaced.

If there is good voltage on the output of the relay when the foot switch is actuated, then check voltage at the motor. Make sure all the terminals are clean and tight. If there is voltage at the motor but it still won’t turn, then the gypsy or drum may be jammed. Use a winch handle or bar to try to turn the gypsy manually. If it won’t budge, then it may be necessary to disassemble the drum or remove the motor from the windlass. Corrosion or a broken part may have seized it.

Anyone who has pulled up a heavy anchor chain by hand in the morning after a windy night can appreciate the difference that pressing a button makes as the chain disappears below. No sea shanty is necessary, but go ahead and sing if you want to.  

This article was originally published in the January/February 2024 issue.