Maiden voyage, now I see the light!!

[toothy]

That boat rides great. The fact that you can stay on plane at such a slow speed makes the ride a lot better than my last V-hull. I'm not a big fan of the cut out transom, filled the motor well several times, but I guess I'll get used to it. Also got a little water over the bow so it was a good test day. Carol caught a fish so I got that no fish smell off the boat, only an Irish Lord but it had fish slime so it counts, didn't want to get skunked on the first outing.

Everything worked perfectly with one exception. That windass needs to live on some other boat, after dealing with several of those things I universally hate them all!! I removed the rode before the voyage and made sure it was twist free and restowed it. First time down it jams twice on the chain and twice on the splice. So I did the thing that always makes windlasses better, go forward and let it out by hand. I figured I'd give it a shot at retrieval but when the anchor is straight down, not much of an anchor either, the rode slips and stop's coming in, back to the bow. If I were buying a new boat and they had a windlass as standard, I would pay to have it left off!!! I'll probably hang a overnight anchor on the bow with the windlass and put a lunch hook/working anchor on deck in a milk crate.

I'm totally pleased. We spent from 10:30 -6:00 with some time off for a cooked lunch and only burned 7.5 gal, even running just off plane some of the time to see what it would do. It loaded and unloaded like a dream, The wife expected the usual cussing screaming and kicking things and was very happy with the way things went.

Thanks for this web site and all your enthusiasm. It prompted me to make a good choice. I'd also like to thank 3rd byte for a nicely rigged and kept boat, with that one little caveat.

Wade

[Mighty Bite]

Hey Wade,

Glad the maiden voyage went well and that you'r happy with the boat.

You had the "initial" run on lthe windlass as well, as I hadn't had a chance to actually use it before selling the boat. From what I can gather the mating of the "right" rode to the windlass is pretty critical to the darn things working as they're supposed to. There are a number of C-Dorys with that particular windlass on them, Joe, of Sea Wolf is one, that might provide more info than I can on the Aries Quick 500 and nuances of rode compatibility.

That being said, the advantages, to me, of having a windlass are manifold and yeah, I'm putting one on 3rd Byte as well. Different in the sense that l opted for a free fall Horizon 600 and will be installing it as soon as the temperature elevates a little and it looks like we're going to have a few days without snow. (Snowed a little last night and is starting again now, ugh!).

[Sneaks]

[Sea Wolf]

toothy-

I had a slippage problem with the Aires. First problem was that it wouldn't seem to pass the splice. Later on, the rope rode began slipping. After a rode change, learning to splice the joint myself, and numerous idea exchanges with other Aires owners and the supplier, Marisafe, my final cure was to go over to a mostly chain rode (1st 100 ft).

The windlass seems to need a stronger pressure finger to force the rode into the gypsy teeth. If you walk up on deck and press your shoe against it, forcing the rode into the gypsy, it works perfectly. We tried several modifications, but were probably too conscious of the cosmetic aspect to design a set of pressure rollers around the gypsy to adequately do the job.

I also built a remote control for the windlass on a cable so that I could go up on deck and use my shoe (put my best foot forward), but going up on deck in heavy seas is one of the things you're trying to avoid in using a windlass. But it does the trick.

The "all chain" rode solves the slip problem completely. I also have 150 feet of 1/2" three strand "tight" nylon New England Yacht braid that follows the chain, and most all the time I can motor up and pull in the rope with the windlass and then lock onto the chain, but not always in really deep water. The 100 ft of chain weighs 74 lbs, and the Fortress FX-16 an additional 11, but the windlass easily handles the load as long as it doesn't slip. Twist with the chain has never been a problem, since I'm using a ball bearing swivel at the anchor shank.

Please ask if you have further questions either here or in a PM. Joe.

[toothy]

If I remember correctly this is the 7th windlass I have used, the others were on 5 different boats, and EVERY one had a failure of one kind or another! Only a couple of times did they totaly not work, the other times the problems were just jams and fuses. I'm pretty sure I don't get along with these things. I'm going to just put the big anchor on it and only use it on rare occasions. This is called the if you ignore it it won't bother you theory. The boat really need's a bigger overnight anchor for me to get any sleep. It might also be nice to use the capstan to haul stuff up.

Joe
2 of the units I've used in the past had little rubber foot control switches mounted in the deck next to the windlass. That way you didn't have to worry about the helmsperson hitting the button while your fingers were clearing a jam. I also wonder if a heavier anchor would seat the rode better and prevent slippage?

Wade

[Sea Wolf]

Wade- The remote I made up is on a cable and is passed up through my open hatch on the foredeck. I suppose someone else in the cabin could hit the switch at the helm, but hopefully we'd both be on the same page.

I too thought a heavier load would pull the rope rode in tighter to the gypsy and consequently get better grip, but the increased weight outweighs the gain in grip. A tight pressure roller would be the obvious answer. I actually think combination gypsies that handle both rope and chain are delicate compromises between two ideal designs, one for rope, and another for chain, and are themselves very much imperfect. They need a very strong pressure finger and a pressure roller (or multiple pressure rollers) to make them bite the rope well. The chain pockets seem to work quite well.

Many combination windlasses actually have a drum for the rope, and a pocket gypsy for the chain, but then you have to pass the rode from the drum to the gypsy yourself manually, so you're back on the foredeck again.

People seem to have very little trouble with the Simpson-Lawrence Horizon 600 and the S-L Sprint 600, which are the correct size for the 22. For anyone looking for a recommendation for a windlass for a C-Dory, they're the ones that I'd have to suggest after all the problems that we've had with the Quick Aires 500.

Good Luck with everything! Joe.

[Redƒox]

Great report toothy We were on our way back yesterday from Culrose in bumpy-water, and had no problems with the C-D player skipping even once! These pupys do ride excellent when heavy enough (even old "Flatty" (my old Classic) LOL ) if ya know what yer doin' and make accurate comparisons to v-bottoms in there element (faster hull speed ) Just gotta let them guys beat you back into port and fight over who gets to trailer their boat first

"Windlass" you have confirmed one of my concerns there. I'm opting-out on them to!

[Waterball]

Glad to see you got the boat out this weekend Wade. Took the Waterball out Sunday for her first cruise of the season. I was all fired up to get a windlass last year and after doing the bouy and ring method for hauling the anchor I decided it was money best spent elsewhere. I will say that its very important for us here in Alaska to have enough anchor rode. I have read posts from people down south that only carry 150' of rode. That just wont do it in a fjord. I have 500' of 3 strand 1/2" line and 25' of chain(like to have more chain). Anyhow looking forward to the seeing you out on the water.
Shaun

[Redƒox]

Yup, I second that buoy and ring method Even though I go 600 feet on the rode and another 25 in stainless chain, most times I only use a hundred feet cuz I'm always looking for the wimpiest anchorage i can find

Pullin-anchor is a good workout