windlass questions

[mark]

dick, what can you tell us about windlass installation and selection from your experience at merritt for the 06 215....my dealer is telling me its a no no,is this correct?for me a windlass is one of the most important things on the boat when im fishing.

[Dick@merrittmarine]

We have one customer that has installed a windlass. He reinforsed the anchor locker lid hinges and put it on the lid. I'm not sure how it will stand up over time, but it's the only one that we can think of and i'm not sure what brand it was. sorry, but that's all I can tell you.

Dick

[mark]

thanks dick,anyone else out there with a windlass on a 215?.......

[Putershark]

I know this question has come up before, have your tried pulling a site search on the words "windlass" or "Anchor windlass" from the search tool on the home page yet?

[mark]

i have tried it putter but i just cant seem to get enough info,even tried dick at merritt for info but he has only seen it on one other triumph and didnt know how they did it,anchoring up on a spot is really important out here on the west coast and its a pain in the butt to have to manually pull the anchor a couple times to get set up right whereas if you have a windlass its no trouble at all to make moves until your set up just right and your baits are right over the prime structure you want to be fishing.i think everyone should have a windlass and im surprised triumph doesnt make accomadations for one as an accessory you can add later.i have a c note that says when they come out with the new 23 that it will have a windlass provision,i think their missng the boat by not having it on the 215.....

[Putershark]

Mark,
Oh I fully understand about pulling up a lot of anchor line (rode) and back when I had my offshore boats including our old 210 I used double the amount of chain (12 feet) so I did not have to let out as much scope (line, rode, whatever you want to call it) and the Anchor ball system like this to haul it all back in...

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...7474&ref=81902

Now I checked with my good friend John at Heartland and as he also states that you may want to consider...

Dave,

We haven’t installed a windless on a 215 or 210, however I don’t think there is any magic here. You simply need to reinforce the mounting location to carry the load. Also, a less complicated solution would be to use an anchor buoy to raise the anchor, and then drive the boat to the buoy. It works well, and it not subject to corrosion and bad electrical connections. Anyone that has used a windless for any amount of time has had annoying maintenance issues. Hope this helps.

John

[mark]

interesting ,so does the anchor ball work well? could be another alternative to a windlass and im likin the price much more...........

[Putershark]

They have a good amount of lifting power matter of fact, I have seen the flukes on a 12 pound anchor that had been "stuck" in the something were bent over like a coke can lid after the ball pulled it free.

Now that other critical thing to remember is your anchor chain placement location point. What you want to do is attach your chain to the bottom end of the anchor (by the flukes) and then wire tie it in several spots up the shaft to the top and wire tie it again where most people normally attach the chain.... Now what happens is if the force become to great too pull the anchor free straight up, the wire ties will break and cause the anchor to now get snatched and pulled 180 degrees in the opposite direction and 9 times out of 10 break it free with little lifting effort being applied by the anchor ball.

I have some pictures posted in the 210 mods section on how to do it

http://www.triumphowners.net/photos/...to/760/cat/505

http://www.triumphowners.net/photos/...to/761/cat/505

on your standard (low budget) anchors, but some elect to spend more and get a hydro bubble model that has some of these features built in... I have neither anymore since my Power Pole (now that is a expensive anchor ) handles 99.9 % of all my anchor duties, and I just carry a simple mushroom anchor and some line in a bag shoved forward if I am running the shore line or fishing in water deeper than 6 feet which for me anymore, is rare

[mark]

interesting setup ,i use a claw{bruce type}anchor so it is a little different but i find it has much greater holding power.i also use about 30 feet of chain with my 11 pound claw plus 300 ft of 1/2 three strand rope,its pretty interesting to see the differences from coast to coast and person to person

[OspreyVic]

Dave – the Com-Putershark mentioned HydroBuble.

We we purchased aModel 30 Standard HydroBubble Anchor, One SW1 Stainless Swivel, 300 ft of 3/8 inch braided rope, with 10 ft of stainless chain, and 1 shackle. With the boat in the garage, we keep the anchor disassembled in the anchor locker. It only takes a minute or two to put it together, and it can be set up as a breakaway if you are anchoring over any man made reefs or rocks. Judy and John Willis are the owners and their web site is http://www.anchorconcepts.com

We also use the T-H Marine ANCHOR MASTER

The ANCHOR MASTER allows a boater to raise the anchor easier, safer, and faster. This product eliminates the hard work and pain of anchor retrieval. This system uses a buoy and the power of your boat to lift the anchor.

To retrieve your anchor with the ANCHOR MASTER:

1) Slip the ring around your anchor line and fasten the ring ends into the cliphook which is attached to the rope and buoy.

2) Drop the ANCHOR MASTER into the water and motor towards the anchor.

3) Run past the anchor at the speed of 6-8 knots. The buoy will mostly submerge until the buoyancy of the buoy raises the anchor.

4) When the anchor is fully raised into the ring, the buoy will pop to the surface. The ring will hold the anchor at the surface.

5) Slowly return to the buoy while you are retrieving the loose rope.

6) Carefully lift the buoy and anchor into your boat.

The ANCHOR MASTER is the only complete and ready to use anchor retriever system on the market! Furthermore, it uses the most foolproof method of retrieving your anchor - no springs to malfunction, no plastic parts to break, no device to feed your anchor line through.

The ANCHOR MASTER utilizes all stainless steel hardware for a durable, non-corrosive system.