Is a Windlass Needed on a CD22?

B

Bill3558

New member
Again may I ask your C-Dory owners a question about a purchase of a new 2006 CD 22.
It seems to me a power windlass would be a real convience if not safety issue on the CD22. If you are single handing it would be tough to position the boat and then have to get up on the bow to feed out the anchor. I am wondering how many CD22 owners have installed a windlass that you can control from the cabin.
My dealer is quoting $1200 for a Lemar V700 installed.

Your thoughts?

Thanks again...
 
Yep. The windlass is a good investment, and if you are anchoring alone in any kind of current, it is a safety need. I had one one my CD22 and now on my CD25, and for sturgeon fishing alone or with my kids in the river it is a must.

I do hope the quoted price includes the anchor, rode and a pivoting bow roller. Five hundred fifty bucks is an awful lot for installing a windlass.

The windlass you chose looks like a good one. Some folks have had some problems with the rope going into the vertical windlass but have corrected it with a smal roller behind the bow roller to hold the line down as it enters. Others have not had any troubles. The low profile windlass sure looks a lot better on the bow, but the horizontal variety still looks alright up there.

Remember - the windlass rule is: Never leave the helm seat for anchoring operations! It's nice. You'll like it.
 
No, it was $1550 with anchor, 10 feet 1/4" chain and 200 feet of 1/2 inch rode. But a quick look online tells me the windlass alone is about $8-900 bucks. Having someone else drill into the deck and run the wires to the cockpit would be worth the installing charge to me.

Is the pivoting bow roller really necessary?
 
Bill3558":36kgfg8a said:
Is the pivoting bow roller really necessary?
Click to expand...

Not if you are willing to break the windlass rule referenced above! Depending on the style of anchor, it might need a push to get it to launch with a fixed roller. Two other advantages of the pivoting roller are a softer landing on retrieve and it keeps the point of the anchor a little farther from the gelcoat when stowed.

Some people do not want the pivoting roller because it is larger and it sticks out more. It needs to hang off the bow a little farther than a fixed roller because when it is tipped down to launch or retrieve the anchor is a little closer to the expensive hull. If you are willing to shove the anchor off the roller or devise some other way to get it to self-launch, then the pivot job isn't needed.

The $1550 complete sounds a lot better than just the cost for the windlas install. Make sure it is Lewmar (or Simpson Lawrence) branded rode. There are some cheaper brands out there, and I am sure there are some good ones, but the S/L rode has been to me worth the extra cost on two occasions.
 
Make sure they don't scrimp on the wire gauge and the breaker. It's
about a 45' round trip from the battery to the windlass and back
again, and that distance demands a fairly heavy wire, which is rather
expensive these days. Probably over $100.

Mike
 
We did not have a windlass on the 22--but almost all of the time there were two of us. We do have a windlass on the 255 and I have taken several trips without Marie, and you are correct it is a definately safety feature. (especially as we age) You can anchor and retrieve the anchor from the helm and avoid going foreward on the narrow side deck or scrunching thru the foreward hatch.
The Lemar 700 is about $700, add in the cost of wire, and circuit breaker probably another $200. We like enough chain so that there is positive engagement when hoisting the anchor. My personal preference is the Delta quick set--but depending on the bottom, either a Fortress (or Danforth pattern) or a Bruce is preferable. Our Delta self lanuches and stows easily. We keep fast pin thru the shank and the roller to secure the anchor when under way--and have to release this before dropping the anchor--so at some point you do have to go foreward--but in the CD 22, we just stood in the forehatch and undid a bungee cord to release the anchor.
 
Yah, the windlass does make life easier in a '22. I cheated a bit and ran #8 wires in parallel with the factory positive and negative busses to the helm andn then to the windlass breaker located near the helm. Then I ran #8 duplex from the breaker to the windlass as seen in the Jenny B album. I've had zero problems launching or recovering the anchor and zero "low voltage" symptoms in the on board electronics.


Don
 
The windlass on our C-Dory was much less expensive than the one we used on our other boats... of course, I didn't have to marry the electric windlass. :wink We generally anchor out more often than we stay in marinas and love the convenience and ease of the windlass. You can justify it with "safety" (and it certainly is safer than going out on the bow), but it's just so darn easy. Joan still goes onto the bow when we're hoisting the anchor; to point and give me direction as I motor up on the anchor. But, she doesn't have to put on gloves and get grubby/wet. Nice.

Not familiar with your local water, but I prefer a bit more chain than 10'; we've used at least a "boat length" as a rule of thumb, but have 50' on our 25. Of course, the windlass does make hauling up that amount of chain an easy task.

Good luck with your decision.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Safety, absolutely, especially with a C-Dory. The bow is light and the cabin windage causes the bow to swing very quickly in any breeze. Our CD-25 is the first boat we've owned with a windlass just for that reason (tried it first without, had some close calls with fingers!).
 
Our son, cognizant of my tendency toward back problems, required us to have a windlass and it was a good investment. We also agree that 20' of chain for the 22' CD would be better in our opinion than ten feet. We currently use a Bruce and in many years of anchoring it has always held for us (knock wood).
 
Well, that settles it - you're getting the windlass. So here's a little tip in wiring the thing. If you have a dedicated house battery, have the installer wire the windlass to the starting battery. The windlass will have a 50 amp breaker, and surges or the load if it stalls will approach that. You'll always want to have a motor running when you retrieve anyway, so the windlass will be assured plenty of power and there will be no sudden drops or surges to the electronics if it's is drawing off the other battery.

On both my boats, I ran #2 cable from the house battery to a bus behind the helm and then wired everything inside and up front to that (including the Wallas and for a while the windlass). On the second boat, I ran a #4 wire from the starting battery to the windlass so I could keep it from the electronics circuit. I did get some low voltage alarms (set at 11.4) on the electronics when using the windlass before I made the wiring change. It really didn't hurt anything because it never got below the 10v threshold, but I didn't like the idea of the voltage changing so quickly in the expensive electronics. Now I make sure the motor is running, and even if I forget to disable the battery combiner the voltage doesn't drop enough to make the beep.
 
Bill3558":3j1li5b0 said:
Is the pivoting bow roller really necessary?
Click to expand...

Well, from my experience I would say yes. I've had my anchor come up and hit the roller and fly up in the air and swing down and hit the bow :shock: :evil: Even when babying the anchor into position I've had some untimely waves bounce the bow up and still have the anchor come off the roller. So, if you don't get the pivoting roller I'd say you should at least have one with a metal strap that prevents the chain and anchor from leaving the roller. Kind of like the one pictured below.

anchor-rollers1.jpg
 
TyBoo makes an excellent point (as always)--I think that the factory wiring is a bit on the small side. I have not checked the voltage in that circuit when running the windlass (one should only use the windlass for lifting the anchor, not for breaking it out). Let the boat break it out. I keep the electronics isolated from the windlass circuit--but agree that #2 wire or even larger would be a good idea directly from the start battery.
 
I just could not handle my boat without one.... in any sort of rough water I am not about to go out on deck and pull that sucker up....nope...not alone..nope. Plus it is lots stronger than I am...sometimes it take a bit of grunt to get er off the bottom...

I also agree with Bill and El... 10' is just too short... you need 20'...no question about that.... it will be a real bargan some night when the wind comes up and the anchor has a hard time holding...

And make sure you buy a larger bow roller...the one that came with your boat will let the anchor bang against your hull when you pull it up with yer windless...I have the Bruce style in the larger size and it still bangs the hull when it comes up tangled..... Sealife Mike put stainless pads on the areas where it bangs...looks nice and protect the hull.

Make sure you use stainless steel seizing wire to safety wire the shackles....I dive commercially and most of the anchors I find have come loose because the shackle pin backed out.

Joel
SEA3PO
 
What your all saying makes alot of sense.

I have had the unpleasant experience more than once in my sailboat of having to go on deck in the middle of the night to reset an anchor after the tide changed and the anchor alarm went off. One morning I woke up to find myseft in the marsh. The mud was so soft I slept right thru it!

Great information, thank you all for your thoughts.

Cruising at 16 knots, with a 3 gallon per hour fuel burn, be still my heart.....

This is like Warp Drive!
 
Back
Top