Windlass on Surprise

We are just back from our summer family sailing trip up the coast... Surprise was a good home and a feeder - in the Navy they say one cannot say more for a ship.

Here are some pictures from the trip - people have been asking me about our anchor windlass installation so you may have a place for that on the site.

That windlass is a Vetus. When I installed it I was asked at our sailing club how much power it draws... I answered 'about half a cheeseburger' which stunned my interviewer. Apparently he was shocked that I would fit a manual windlass.

We carry 150' of 5/16" BBB chain under the windlass, 200' of 5/8" nylon through the deck pipe to port. If you look closely at the spinnaker sheet snap shackle to starboard, you will see the marlin spike on a lanyard we keep in the anchor fitting for the starboard lifeline. Keeping the spike there keeps it handy for doing up and removing shackles from whatever anchor we put on the nylon anchor cable.

The reason the mahogony pad under the windlass extends so far aft is so that it covers the old hole from the old deck pipe we used for the chain before I got the windlass.

The other reason is just because I liked it.

Gord
Surprise, #426

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Page last modified: Friday 03-Feb-2023