Windlass Installation and Power Systems: A Cruising Sailor's Guide
Understanding Windlass Options
Today we're diving into the installation and powering of windlasses. When considering getting and installing a windlass, there are several important choices to make beyond the obvious ones like sizing the windlass to your boat and existing ground tackle system.
Power System Choices
There are two main ways to power a windlass:
Dedicated battery/charging system - A separate forward battery system
House batteries - Using your main electrical system with backup from the starting battery and engine
Windlass Type Variations
You also need to consider what type of windlass to install:
Fully electric vs. electric with manual backup capability
Gypsy only vs. combined capstan and gypsy
(Note: Some boats are simply too large for manual operation, so they don't factor into this discussion.)
My Evolution on Manual vs. Electric Systems
I used to be an "all manual everything" guy when it came to electric water pumps versus manual ones, electric windlasses versus manual ones, winches, marine heads, and electric furling systems, which I’m still way NOT into. This philosophy was shaped by my focus on smaller, more practical, simpler voyaging yachts with streamlined systems.
While I still maintain the same position on water pumps, heads, and winches, I've changed my mind about windlasses. I'm still open to electric winches, and pressure water is fantastic (especially when hot), but only as long as manual backups are available for both systems.
These creature comforts are great, but you don't “need” them to go voyaging—probably more people cruise without them than with them. However, if you do have them, you absolutely must have a manual backup in place. si in short; #1 They're nice to have, #2 You don't need them, #3 But if you have them, you need a manual backup.
Why I Now Advocate for Electric Windlasses
This philosophy applies similarly to windlasses, except for one crucial point: I think you absolutely should have an electric windlass if you can. However, it must also have the ability to work manually—this is extremely important for anyone voyaging. Considering all these factors, we chose the Maxwell HRC 10 electric windlass with both a gypsy and a capstan for Bella Sera! all systems that run your windlass fail, you must absolutely have the ability to bring up your anchor manually. But a windlass needs to be electric, in my opinion.
A Note on Marine Heads
Heads, I believe, should never be electric on a voyaging boat. Personally, I only want a composting head. A pump head is the same to me as an electric head—too many things can go wrong, too many parts to fix or unclog (like the macerator), and the holding tank takes up valuable storage space. When they break down (and that's inevitable), there's never a good time for it, and they're disgusting to repair.
The Real-World Scenario That Changed My Mind
My reasoning for changing my position on manual windlasses came from a personal experience on Bella Sera—not the exact scenario I'm about to describe, but one that relates to it and served as the catalyst.
Imagine you're in a real blow—40 to 50 knots of wind blowing you onto a rocky lee shore—and your anchor starts to drag. Weighing anchor quickly becomes imperative. Weighing anchor quickly with a manual windlass isn't really a thing unless you're a real badass (which I'm not).
Single-handed, this could become a very dangerous scenario very quickly. The exhaustion would be immense, but then you're running back to the helm to keep powering forward, then running back to the bow to crank on the windlass before the wind blows you off again. Add a little anxiety and a lot of fear to that mix, and you can picture how scary this scenario becomes.
At least with an electric windlass, it cranks faster and steadier, runs on its own power (so it's not exhausting you), and a switch to control the windlass from the cockpit is available for most electric windlasses these days. That scenario is far more manageable and way more safe!
Powering Your Windlass: Two Approaches
Option 1: Separate Forward Battery System
Some consider the best way to install a windlass is to utilize a separate forward battery system. It's not common, but people do it. This system uses a battery forward near the windlass in the bow with its own charging system—most often solar, and usually only solar. You could add a wind generator, but it's unlikely.
There is some valid reasoning for this system—well,…really only one: you don't have to run heavy gauge cables all the way forward from your house batteries. All the wiring is in close proximity with the battery, solar panel, and windlass.
In my case, on a 37-foot boat, I would need about 80 feet of 4 AWG cable to run from my batteries to the windlass and back (because it's a circuit). To calculate wire gauge, you must count all the linear feet of the circuit to and from the batteries. My windlass draws 85 amps, so at that distance, it requires 4 AWG cable, which is about half an inch in diameter, quite heavy, and currently costs $470 for a 50-foot spool at West Marine (which I found to be competitively priced for ancor tinned cable).
Always use tinned cable for every electrical need on a boat—salt or fresh water.
You can see that the cable will cost you dearly, but in my reasoning, it's worth it. For this remotely powered system, you still need a battery (and I'd argue a damn good one because literally your life and yacht depend on it), a solar panel that needs to be safely and securely fastened (improperly installed flexible panels can catch fire—it's rare, but it happens), and all the associated wiring and connections.
This system will end up costing a fair amount, mostly depending on your battery and solar panel choices.
Option 2: House Battery Power (My Preference)
The other way to power a windlass—and the one I prefer—is powering it from the house batteries, which is how it's usually done. Sure, the cable is expensive, but I'd rather spend the money and have what I consider a more reliable, robust system than one that could fail when that blow comes on and you need it most.
House batteries can stay charged not only by your solar system but also by the generator, giving us a system with failsafe backup right away. Because you have a separate starting battery that isn't part of the house system, it's always charged and available to start the engine. You can hopefully always depend on that starting battery.
The starting battery is such a dependable, integral, and often undervalued part of a yacht's electrical system. If the house batteries fail, once the engine is running, you have power to run the windlass, and all the electrical systems on the yacht.
We also have considerably more charge available from our house system because it contains more batteries (more amp hours) than just one battery in a forward system. If we've had a couple days of clouds and maybe had to weigh anchor to move a few times in the anchorage (because of bad swell or loud neighbors), the battery in a forward system might already be worn down. However, we can always run the engine anytime—and we often do when at anchor during cloudy periods—to charge both house and starting batteries.
There's very little chance of being caught with no juice to weigh anchor with this system of powering your windlass from house batteries.
The Importance of Manual Backup
If your windlass doesn't have a manual backup, you can picture the scenario—it's not good.
The Case for a Capstan
I also like having a windlass with a capstan—it's another failsafe option for cranking down on or retrieving a line. It's also forward where there are no winches for that task.
Sometimes a tensioned line is needed to temporarily replace the forestay if tension needs to be relieved for repair, or worse, for a broken headstay, in which case that line actually becomes the headstay. That line gets to wrap around the beefy capstan on a beefy windlass that has an incredibly strong installation on your bow.
It's also good for retrieving a second line off the bow—for instance, if you use a para-anchor. Most of the rode on a para-anchor is actually rode and not chain, so it's much easier to retrieve that rode with a capstan.
I think it's a great idea to have a second option forward to retrieve lines, second anchors (which I never recommend using), lines used to tie off to shore, or any other lines you might use forward.
My Recommendations
Here's my reasoning for a windlass powered from your house bank and why I believe you should absolutely have a windlass with manual backup:
#1 We want an electric windlass for sure
#2 We absolutely want it powered from our house battery system
#3 We absolutely want it to have a manual backup
And the real #1 Safety First!
Final Thoughts
Think deeply about all your systems before you buy anything. Try to come up with every scenario that system is involved in, and the ones adjacent to it.
Some would say your ground tackle is the most important system on a yacht, and I wouldn't disagree. If that's the case, then you want the absolute best, strongest, most reliable, rugged, failsafe system that will cover your back for any scenario Mother Nature can serve up.
The mission of this channel is to help people go cruising safely in robustly prepared yachts. I really don't want to see people going to sea in yachts that are unprepared or not up to the task.
Thanks for reading, and safe sailing!
