Anchor rope for windlass?

[ozlongboarder]

I want to buy some anchor rope for my outside trips. I have a Muir winch and was wondering if any anchor rope will work or does it have to be specific for a winch. What diameter would be a minimum for a 25 Bertram in 70-100m of water.

[peterbo3]

Not as easy as it sounds. "Silver" anchor rope is the go but "silver" has now become a generic term. That is a fair lump of a boat with a high cab & subsequently wind will put extra strain on your rope. Ask a reputable chandlery like Glascraft as different ropes vary in strength & stretch for a given diameter. The other consideration is that the Muir is really only designed to lift the rope, chain & anchor as opposed to breaking it free from the bottom in water that deep. Try to drive the boat to a spot above the anchor while recovering rope as you go. You may have up to 400M out in 100M of water.

[bj]

Was advised to use nylon rope on my original Quick horizontal winch as the silver rope was not advised. The nylon rope is more expensive but I had no problem in the four years that I had it. My major problem with the winch was rope twist. I tried everything to try to overcome it but no success. After every two or three trips I would have to run the rope out in the back yard & get the twists out of it. I now have a vertical Lewmar winch & nylon rope & have never had rope twist, as Peter said its better to use an anchor bouy to retrieve the anchor in deep water offshore but having said that I have retrieved my anchor very successfully with the winch a couple of times but you do have to motor directly over the top of the anchor to do so as it is not recommended to try & use the winch as you would use an anchor bouy. I understand the 3 strand silver rope can create a problem with the loose strands along the rope fouling the gypsy. Mate I,m no expert this is only what I have found out over a period of time. Hope it helps.

[Chimo]

Hi OLB

It might be a lot easier to run a couple of anchor set ups

At sea, in deep water maybe stick with the stainless steel split retriver ring on a decent float to lift your line, chain and reef anchor. Capt has probably got a ring or two and fo very little $ you could splice up your own float with ring and give it a go. You wont have to worry about twisted line and you still have your winch for shallow water work

Line wise you would probably get away with 12 mm silver with a 2430kg break load and in 100m lengths its only $88 Its good for up to 40ft boats in 30 knot wind. More to the point, with its thickness, its easy on hands

Just a thought.

Cheers
Chimo

[cbs]

go to here:

http://www.nmsc.gov.au/uslcode_1.html

download Section 13. Find the anchor section.

Calculate the anchor mass for a seagoing (partially smooth may* be ok if you are a fine weather only type guy - your choice) vessel from the tables using your hull length and height above the waterline. Take the reductions for planing hull and high holding power anchor type, then pick off the anchor cable for the anchor weight on one of the other tables.

These numbers are for commercial vessels, so may be a little heavier than you are used to, but will be ok.

Or ring your windlass manufacturer.

cbs