OK, first of all.... Windlass, with an A.
It does say right on the side of the capstan it takes a rope to chain rode. It is also not a free fall type windlass. It is a power down, power up windlass.
You can purchase a rope/chain rode already properly spliced. It says 1/2" rope right on it.
Personally, I would not fool with an all chain rode for a 27' boat. Too heavy and probably not necessary.
Once you get decent galvanized chain running through that thing again, all thet rust staining will cease.
We do and we have gotten anchors unstuck from the bottom. I do about 3 per year. People do not always know hot to retreive their anchor properly I notice.
First of all.... take note of which direction the boat is currently pulling on the anchor at rest.
Untie the anchor rode from the cleat where it was properly tied while at rest ( you are not supposed to let the windlass hold the weight of the boat at rest and you are certainly not supposed to use the windlass to pull the complete weight of a stuck anchor from the bottom. It can damage the internal gearing).
Drive forward while taking in slack with the windlass until you are as near to a straight up and down anchor line in the water as possible.
Re tie your anchor line to the forward cleat ( you do have a forward cleat, right? I bet the Sea Ray did LOL)
With the anchor line tied to the cleat, power the boat in the direction noted earlier of the last known direction where the anchor line was heading away from the boat at rest.
The boat's forward movement and straight upward pull will cause the anchor to release from the bottom. You can usually feel the release, if the anchor was set well at all.
Once released from the bottom, untie the line from the forward cleat and use the windlass to retreive the line and pull the anchor back up to the boat. Use the windlass remote on the bow to retreive the line and the washdown outlet and hose on the bow to rinse the line as it comes up. (you don't have either one of those things? The Sea Ray probably did
)
Now, when you buy the new anchor line, I suggest getting some rope marking dye and mark the line every 10' or so with a system you can recognize as the line pays out. This way you will know when you have the proper amount of line out for the area where you are anchoring. If you geta couple different colors, you can use one color for 10' intervals and anothe color for 50' or whatever works for you.
When you anchor and you are just going to swing in the wind with no stern line, you will generally face the boat into the wind and hold about stationary while you drop the proper amount of line you want out for the area. Then you can either back up slowly or let the wind carry you until the line comes tight. At that point you would probably back up with the engine a little more to make sure the anchor is set. You may want to tie the line to the cleat again to make sure not to pull too hard on the windlass, as long as you are sure you have enough rope out.
If you want to tie the stern to the bank, make sure you set the anchor in the direction exactly opposite of where you intend to have a stern line tied to the bank, or a stern anchor out.
Now, when you get that new spool of anchor rode, DO NOT uncoil it with the spool lying flat faced on the ground. This will introduce nasty twists in the line that will foul up the windlass operation big time. You need to use a broom handle through the spool and pull the line off of it while the spool spins. I also generally lay the line out in the yard straight, when coming off the spool and then pull it into the boat.
You will also want to use a swivel in the line where it attaches to the anchor to try and keep any twist out of the line on a regular basis.
Help or confusion??
Wonder if he's ever had that kind of call?
