Upper Columbia River Windlass Use ??? (Frenchman's Bar)

C

CatyMae n Steve

New member
As new owners who've never used a windlass, we'd like to ask some questions about using one in the upper Columbia River. The current where the Willamette comes into the Columbia is not nearly as strong as it is in the B10/Astoria area. We're going to try to get a feesh or 3 in that area, and most boats anchor to fish -- we'd like to also, but I'm unsure of using a windlass -- I read a thread on here not too long ago about the boat being driven forward and going over the rope, getting it into the prop and swamping the boat -- very scary. My question is do we have to drive forward? Or is the windlass strong enough to pull the boat to the anchor, then pull the anchor off the bottom? This is also our first experience with a Bruce-like anchor, so I also don't know how well it holds -- formerly, I've used the 4-prong, heavy duty anchor with the ball pulling system commonly used on the Columbia. Any info/help would be appreciated.
 
The windlass is strong enough to pull the boat forward in the current, but the current going through the windlass is why I sometimes like to help it. I don't really run up on the line until it is slack. Rather, I put the motor in and out of gear as needed using the sound of the straining windlass as a guide. Unless the current is real swift, it usually only takes a couple of these bumps, even down here. If the river is running hard, sometimes the motor stays in gear and I throttle up/down using the windlass strain as a guide. When there is little or no current, the boat actually springs ahead on the line when the windlass draws it taut, so no motor help is needed. The anchor will pull free of the bottom as the rode gets close to vertical.

I have a Bruce style anchor on my boat, and used a fluke (Danforth) style on my previous boat. I found the Bruce holds just as well, but requires a greater scope. For attended anchoring, the fluke style would work good with 3:1, but the Bruce likes 5:0. Once set, the Bruce holds really good in the lower CR sand, even when the tide and the boat turns 180º on a set. I had me one of them pronged gizmos, but it was just too ugly to put on a C-Dory.

With your windlass and toasty warm cabin, you will probably not want to release the anchor and drift down on a fish like the hog liners do. The few times I salmon fished upstream, I would find a place by myself or with a couple of other CB CDs, and then let others know when they anchored close that we would not be releasing. Shoot, if I wanted to drive after them fish I would just go to the seafood store. It would be a lot cheaper and give me a better chance of bringing one home.
 
There were only about 3 boats around Frenchman's Bar when we got there, so we tried the windlass -- it worked great! Thank you for the words of wisdom. I was angsting after reading the swamped with a windlass thread. Steve sat on the bow and watched as I pulled it up, went straight, then came up off the bottom without a strain. Every time we try something with this boat, we're even more impressed at its user friendliness and ease of operation.

Well, Steve had the hot rod again today. He got a really nice chinook (I'll post it in our album). He had it up to the boat and felt I should net it...said something like "Why didn't you net it?" as when it saw the net, it ran like a torpedo, just barely under the surface of the water for about 80 yards perpendicular to our boat -- "Holy *$?!" is what he said next, I believe. I've never seen one run like that -- only dive -- this one was barely underwater. On our ride home, I told him he should've asked our neighbors to net it, since it ran straight toward their boat until it saw their boat, then turned and came right into our net. He said he would've if he'd thought of it :lol:
 
CatyMae n Steve,
You caught my attention with the "upper Columbia". If you want to use that windlass on the upper Columbia you will have to come over in my neck of the woods. Us eastern Washingtonians get no respect. LOL. I wish we had the great salmon fishing in our upper Columbia. Glad your windless worked ok for you.
 
Shoot, if I wanted to drive after them fish I would just go to the seafood store. It would be a lot cheaper and give me a better chance of bringing one home.
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Brought a tear to my eye laughing... Since my spouse and I have only landed about 50 fish (so far) we figure they cost about $1K each!
 
k3nlind":2t2aqj1j said:
Shoot, if I wanted to drive after them fish I would just go to the seafood store. It would be a lot cheaper and give me a better chance of bringing one home.
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Brought a tear to my eye laughing... Since my spouse and I have only landed about 50 fish (so far) we figure they cost about $1K each!
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I did the same calculation - averaging the cost of the boat, gear, gas, launch fees etc. over all the fish. Initially the cost/(fish/pound) was about $10,000 but it came down over time. However, it doesn't go down forever - eventually the cost/pound approaches a lower limit. In my case, the lower limit is about $250/lb. I have to justify the cost of the boat, gear etc. some other way. Hence the signature...
 
CatyMae n Steve":2x1gdhz0 said:
You have to deduct the fun factor and the non-hotel expense from your cost ... you're saving money! :wink: :wink
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Yes and when West Marine has a sale, the more I spend, the more I save. :roll: :lol:
 
I count all hours spent aboard, not just engine hour meter time.
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Kewl... now to get my spouse to consider the time I spend just looking at my CD parked in the drive!... Might get my costs down lower than rogerbum... :smilep
 
I'd like to highjack this thread :D and ask a similar question. I'm trying to figure out wether or not to go with a windlass system. I can't quite figure out what would be easier for anchoring in the columbia and how much line I should use. Les from eq says that 200' of rope and 15 feet of chain fits in the 22' nicely. What I don't know (since I don't have the boat yet) is is it easy to drop an anchor manually? Where do you do it from? Do you get up front or can you drop it from the forward hatch? I suppose I could buy an anchor puller that is commonly used. Would a 16lb fluke anchor hold the c-dory in the columbia? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
We outfitted with a Bruce knockoff, so we wouldn't feel soooo much pain if we lose it that is 11#, 230 foot of rope and 20 foot of chain. It works great. We went out again yesterday and anchored in a few different places. Since we're rookies with it, my husband goes on the bow and just watches to make sure it's going straight down or out in front of us, not behind when lowering and I operate the switch at his commands. And we do the same thing pulling it. He helps the chain a bit when it is retrieved into the roller and then again when the anchor is at the roller. We usually start the engine so it's running if we need it, but haven't needed to bump the boat forward retrieving at all. Sure is easier on our 'aging' bodies! :thup and we don't have to have the bulky ball and whopping 25# anchor to try to stow somewhere when it's not in use...very efficient :wink:
 
flapbreaker":1n7qumwx said:
I'd like to highjack this thread :D and ask a similar question. I'm trying to figure out wether or not to go with a windlass system. I can't quite figure out what would be easier for anchoring in the columbia and how much line I should use. Les from eq says that 200' of rope and 15 feet of chain fits in the 22' nicely. What I don't know (since I don't have the boat yet) is is it easy to drop an anchor manually? Where do you do it from? Do you get up front or can you drop it from the forward hatch? I suppose I could buy an anchor puller that is commonly used. Would a 16lb fluke anchor hold the c-dory in the columbia? Any advice would be appreciated.
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If you're thinking about it, you need a windlass. Before putting one one my 22, I stood up through the front hatch to work the anchor. It worked alright if there was someone else aboard to man the helm, but when alone it is a bad thing to do if the current is running. Get a windlass or a permanent co-captain.

The CD22 anchor locker will hold 300' of rope and 15' of chain no problem. It is full, and you get the occasional spill over of the chain, but a vertical extension is easy to fashion. I never bothered to extend the bulkhead in mine because it was rarely a problem.

With the closed bow, I think the ball type system would be a royal pain.

The 16# fluke style anchor holds really well in the soft Columbia bottom down at my end. Better than the Bruce, as a matter of fact.

I also put a windlass on my second CD, and if it went haywire I would replace it. For this 53 year old guy who does a lot of fishing at anchor, the windlass is an absolute must. You don't need one, but you don't need windows in the cabin, either.
 
Thanks for the quick relpy's. Tyboo that's what I needed to know. It sounds like I should get the windless for ease of use. Thanks again and hopefully I'll have my equipement choices dailed in. I think I might be driving Les at EQ a little crazy with my indecisions.. :sad :D
 
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