Anchor winch installed

[Nose]

I posted some time back about thoughts on installing anchor winch on my Yellowtail. Got a few responses and found a few installs. That y'all might want to see another location option. It worked out great. Used the backing plate that came with the winch along with another aluminum backing plate that covered the bow ront on the inside of the cuddy, so plate on plate. A little overkill but this thing is rock solid. Rope winds on very well.

[disposable]

super slick. love the front-of-cab placement. can you share any details about the anchor roller?

[martin3]

As a fellow drum winch owner......welcome to the club!

The installation looks great.
I never thought of the cabin front position,   that is a great idea!
Nice work.  Perfect choice of anchor and rigging.

You are going to enjoy that set up.
Everytime you anchor and pick it up, you will smile.
It has been a game changer for me.

[AJFishin]

Perfect timing on this, I'm going to help a buddy out next month to install his, which I'm jealous of everyones lol, and I'm going to show him your install, looks really slick.
Can you post pictures from the inside?

[Yachter Yat]

   Interesting.  This will certainly make anchoring a helluvatlot easier. That aside, two things concern me about this installation. The first is:  Since they're so exposed to saltwater spray, I wonder if it would be advisable to add a bit of LifeSeal around those little cable glands.  The other is that it appears the bow locker might have been rendered pretty much inaccessible. Hard to tell by the pics if it can be opened enough to still be useful. I suppose mounting the winch just a bit higher might have helped, in that respect. Not sure, but it appears doing that may have interfered with the nav light??  

Yat

[Omega3]

Curious if there is a quick disconnect on this system?

[Nose]

Thanks everyone. I will post some inside photos in near future. There is no quick disconnect system, per se. Really easy to remove if need be. The locker storage lid I removed the hinge pins and installed D clips, so I can easily remove the lid for full use of the storage. Good idea at the cable glans. Nav light is still fully viewable. The anchor roller is Lewmar bow (not long bow) roller for delta 14-35# anchors.

[Omega3]

Quick release as in trouble is headed my way and I need to get off the hook NOW.?Just a knife and a trip to the bow and abandon the helm.?

[Yachter Yat]

The locker storage lid I removed the hinge pins and installed D clips, so I can easily remove the lid for full use of the storage.

   Nose:  Sounds like you're way ahead of us.   Sorry, but I don't understand this "quick disconnect" Omega is referring to. Pardon me my stupidity, but how would that work?? Is this anchor/winch system any different from some of the others we've seen?   I don't know....guess I'm either asleep, or simply missing the obvious. 

Yat

[fishmeister]

The locker storage lid I removed the hinge pins and installed D clips, so I can easily remove the lid for full use of the storage.

   Nose:  Sounds like you're way ahead of us.   Sorry, but I don't understand this "quick disconnect" Omega is referring to. Pardon me my stupidity, but how would that work?? Is this anchor/winch system any different from some of the others we've seen?   I don't know....guess I'm either asleep, or simply missing the obvious. 

Yat

If the term "quick disconnect" is implying what I think it is....

Imagine if you are fishing in a river and anchored (something I do frequently).  Suddenly, you look upriver and see a very large log/tree coming your way.  You do NOT want to be in the path of that.  You will NOT be able to stop it.  If it runs up your anchor line, there is a very real possibility of it pulling your entire bow underwater.  If water starts getting in the boat, it will fill very quickly.

In this scenario, you need to be able to toss your anchor line and float free in a big hurry.

When I'm fishing the river, I have my anchor line tied in a loop and just hooked around my center deck cleat.  I also have the extra line tied to a buoy.  This way, all I have to do to release from my anchor is pull the line just enough to release the loop.  Then I can just throw the whole thing overboard and float free.  I can come back later and pick up the anchor or tie up to it again.

This also comes in quite handy when a large fish is hooked and it becomes necessary to fight it by drifting down the river with it.

[Wiley]

Imagine if you are fishing in a river and anchored (something I do frequently).  Suddenly, you look upriver and see a very large log/tree coming your way.  You do NOT want to be in the path of that.  You will NOT be able to stop it.  If it runs up your anchor line, there is a very real possibility of it pulling your entire bow underwater.  If water starts getting in the boat, it will fill very quickly.

I have had this exact scenario happen this year since installing mine. Our delta has been very high water this year with tons of debris floating around. I think I posted a picture and comment earlier. In my case I'm pretty diligent about watching for trees etc. what I was able to do was simply fire the motor first thing and hit the up button to retrieve anchor moved out of trees path, went back dropped anchor again. !
Another option I've thought of since this happened in ase I'm napping is I would play out all the rope left on the drum to buy time until either pushing debris away or cutting line. I also only zip tied the end of my line to drum as emergency 🆘 with enough tension the zip ties should break freeing the line from drum/boat. Better a lost anchor than submerged vessel.
Certainly like the loop and cleat idea though. I would use that if I didn't have the drum. !

[AP]

I think the "quick disconnect" is a knife!

[croaker stroker]

Good job. You're gonna love it. 

[Nose]

With this boat working in the Straight, my disconnect is either unwinding or knife. May change later if I change fishing tactics.

[Wiley]

With this boat working in the Straight, my disconnect is either unwinding or knife. May change later if I change fishing tactics.

I'd also recommend the zip ties no knot, as an sos. I pushed the rope through the hole in drum. Layed it flat against the spindle and evenly spaced 3 zip ties across to hold it. I will never anchor so deep I reach this much rope out. But if sos I can break away. Gives me some peace of mind.

[Omega3]

With this boat working in the Straight, my disconnect is either unwinding or knife. May change later if I change fishing tactics.

Strait of Jaun de Fuca?I regularly anchor around Port Angeles and the water is rarely calm.Lumpy water,me with a knife in one hand crawling out to the bow because no one is smart enough to at least put in a small port hole for a rope to pass through in these pilot house boats and trouble heading my way fast,what could go wrong?!I feel like gunney on Full Metal Jacket,None of You dumb a$$es know.

[disposable]

WILEY'S DISCONNECT IDEA/STORY REALLY GOT ME THINKING. I love how these threads evolve...

[croaker stroker]

With this boat working in the Straight, my disconnect is either unwinding or knife. May change later if I change fishing tactics.

I'd also recommend the zip ties no knot, as an sos. I pushed the rope through the hole in drum. Layed it flat against the spindle and evenly spaced 3 zip ties across to hold it. I will never anchor so deep I reach this much rope out. But if sos I can break away. Gives me some peace of mind.

With this boat working in the Straight, my disconnect is either unwinding or knife. May change later if I change fishing tactics.

I'd also recommend the zip ties no knot, as an sos. I pushed the rope through the hole in drum. Layed it flat against the spindle and evenly spaced 3 zip ties across to hold it. I will never anchor so deep I reach this much rope out. But if sos I can break away. Gives me some peace of mind.

My winch does not have "freefall", so I am going with the knife for emergency disconnect. It would take a while to unwind back to the zip ties in an emergency. I know there is a way to allow the anchor to freefall manually, but it also takes too much time.

Only problem with jettisoning the anchor is you better have a spare JIC.

There are a few safety precautions to using a winch. 

I am also curious to see if Nose needs to remove some rode to allow for "crowning".

[Wiley]

And yup there's always the knife, although a bit easier access for C.S. Being open bow.

[Secret Spot]

If this question was asked earlier in the thread, you'll have to forgive me as I didn't see it; How much chain & line does the drum hold? Say 1/2" line and 1/4" chain?

Thanks!

[croaker stroker]

I am using 5/16" Dyneema, which is overkill. It is stronger than 1/2" rope. I have (I'm guessing) about 250 feet and 10 feet of chain. 1/2" rope takes up too much room on the spool.

The spool fits more, but my winch is close to the bow roller and the rode bunches up in the middle of the spool. So I had to take off about 1/4 spool to make room. This might just be the nature of these winches ?? Maybe someone else's winch is farther from the roller and doesn't have the crowning issue?

[Wiley]

Mine crowns also. I have to let some out and then retract sometimes so it repositions itself.  But simply a matter of pushing down button for a few feet then up button. Easy peasy. I think I started with about 175' of 3/8 rope because that's what I had. After crowning I cut about 45-50 ft off but retained my 10' of 1/4" chain. I'm in about the 135' range which is plenty for me. Maybe one day I'll switch to Dyneema but I love just having the winch. I find I fish much more now because I don't have to lift the anchor anymore. That had really became a hindrance for me. $ well spent...

[disposable]

regarding backup anchors after breaking away...

i can see cutting away from an anchor in an emergency, but if you have a buoy on the end of the rode (like i do), you can always come back and retrieve the anchor. at least, that's what i tell myself... i have a lobster pot buoy on the rode with a slip-knot on the end of the rode in my anchor locker. my vision is, if i had to leave my anchor, i can take the rode off the anchor cleat, and as the boat drifts away, pull the slip knot... rode goes over and the boat is free, but then, i can come back for it. only fly in that ointment, i think, is if the drift is onshore and i'm anchored shallow... cuz in that scenario my buoy could be pushed ashore.

[martin3]

Running the smaller diameter line is critical for me.
Most of my anchoring is 80 to 120 ft.
So I needed the capacity with sufficient scope.

I am running 100M of 6mm braided line + 25ft of 1/4 chain on my drum.
This gives me roughly 350ft.   I have tweaked my rode set up a few times,   It is pretty much optimal now.

I also added in the free-fall kit this fall,  It works great.
I painted my "shot" increments at 25ft.
This allows me to be pretty accurate on how much I drop each time basis the depth.

[disposable]

All that^. Martinlovefest