Luxury Yacht & Speed Boat

Heavy ground tackle makes for sound sleeping, but when it’s time to weigh anchor, it can be a pain unless you have a windlass to do the heavy lifting. Fortunately for our lower backs, there are windlasses sized to fit any boat and no reason not to have one aboard as an unpaid hand.

When properly installed, a windlass requires minimal maintenance.Here’s what you need to know.

First, rinse the windlass thoroughly after every voyage to wash off the salt, let it dry, and cover it. (Many anchor lockers are now equipped with the quick-connect-type freshwater connections for rinsing.) Use the windlass frequently to keep the innards lubricated; crank it over for a few turns at least every couple of weeks. If the windlass sits idle, the oil will drop off the internal gears, some of which are steel and prone to rust. Since the windlass is ex­posed to lots of salt spray, rain, and dampness from wet anchor rods, unpro­tected steel will soon be rusty steel. While you’re at it, manipulate any movable parts—clutches, brakes, chain stoppers, etc. “Use it or lose it” is applicable to windlasses, ton.

At the beginning of the season, disassemble, clean, and lubricate the windlass according to the directions in the manual. This doesn’t require major surgery, just basic field-snipping that anyone can do. Use the type of grease recommended by the manufacturer, being careful to keep friction clutches and brakes lobe-free. Repeat the process at lay-up or at no less than six-month in­tervals if you use your boat year-round.

Look around the fastenings for signs of leakage, which can lead to water intrusion into cored decks, an expensive and frustrating condition to repair. Check below decks as well, where water drips leave rust stains even on stainless steel fas­tenings. Misuse of the windlass, e.g., using it to absorb the strains of anchoring rather than transferring the rode to a mooring cleat (or nylon snubbed in the case of chain), can overstress the fastenings, break the bedding, and let water in. Don’t ignore leaks.

Inspect all electrical connections for problems. Connections should be clean, corrosion free (corrosion looks like the white deposits you often find on your car’s battery cables), and devoid of burned areas that can result from arcing. If nec­essary, remove the leads (shutoff the power first—there are a lot of amps here), clean the terminals and posts, and re­connect.

Coat the connec­tions with grease, and re-cov­er them with the boots. Look at the motor casing, too; it’s usually painted steel, and if the paint’s nicked, it’ll rust. Touch up the paint be­fore it gets worse.

Also, check the footswitch­es on the foredeck. The hinged caps should open and close easily and have a firm, tight fit for preventing accidental activations. Be­cause the rubber can be damaged by exposure to UV rays, the diaphragms on the switches should be doused with 303 Protectant or another UV shield. The switches can also be silicone-sealed around their edges. Finally, when you use the windlass, don’t make it do all the work. Motor toward the anchor so there’s minimal strain on the rode.

If the anchor doesn’t break out easily, belay the rode and pop it free with the engine, then use the windlass to lift it back aboard. Your windlass will last longer and be happier if you don’t overstress it.