What we got: 1400 watt, 12 volt, Quick brand windlass.
This is a very good unit altogether, but Jeremiah isn’t too happy with the design. He was hoping we could have switched to a different design but we couldn’t because it's wired in with aftermarket products. You know that cool remote control we can drive the boat with? It’s called a remote Yacht Controller and it’s wired into the Windlass. Because of this, we can drive the boat and drop the anchor and pull the anchor up all with remote control. Also, there's a counter on it to count the number of feet of chain that is out. This really helps when pulling the chain back in so Jeremiah can let me know how much is left. These are amazing features to have and we really enjoy them, but this is the reason why we had no choice but to go with this specific design. If we would have gone with a different windlass design, we would have also had to replace these other parts. We decided it was definitely worth it to stick with this specific windlass.
We were so excited when it came in, and it was actually very easy to install. I was up top with the unit, and Jeremiah was underneath making sure it was all lined up. Once it was lined up, I just slid it down, and Jeremiah tightened up the nuts on the bolts. Then he wired it back in with the same wires we had before.
Since we were messing with all of this anyway, we decided to go ahead and replace our chain because the chain had been getting old and it wasn’t as long as we would like. Honestly, it probably will last longer, but our chain was only 120 feet which means we can anchor in about 12 feet of water with a 10-to-1 scope. We want to have the option and freedom to anchor in deeper water, so we figured this was as good of a time as any to get a longer chain.
Now we have our new 3-inch chain! It's about a thousand dollars for 200 feet. We went with Pierless Chain Company out of Minnesota and it's a very high-quality chain.
Since we were replacing the chain, we also decided to make some adjustments in the compartment(s) where they are stored in. We have two anchors up front-- one is a backup-- and we left the old chain on the backup. Where the chain is stored, we had two compartments, one chain was on one side and the other chain was on the other side. It was actually more of a pain to have them in 2 different compartments so we got rid of the divider and now have one big compartment.
To do this, we pulled everything out, cut half the rope off of the backup, and left enough that we still have a good anchor. Then we cut the divider out, put the emergency chain down and put the new one on top. Now we have a lot more room, and it’s more functional. Another reason we did this was to eliminate the backup that happened last time which caused the windlass to break in the first place. Overall we are very happy with these changes and cannot wait to put them to good use!
We were thrilled that the installation process was so much easier than the removal. While it is very rewarding to be able to do these fixes ourselves, we are so excited that these repairs are FINALLY complete and we can get back to the best parts about sailing. Where are we off to now??
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