GONE WITH
THE WINDLASS
Last time I was out on the boat- a Fairline Phantom 50 – it struck me
whether I should be concerned about
the strain on my electric windlass when
retrieving the anchor. Is it okay to haul
the whole lot in one go or does that put
too much strain on the motor and risk
damage? Michael Crowley
It depends on the age of the windlass but
a modern one should be able to handle
hauling the anchor and chain up in one
go, especially if you’re anchoring in
shallows and don’t need to retrieve
a couple of hundred feet of chain and run
the motor for an extended period of time.
It’s worth trying to make the work as
easy as possible for the windlass by
keeping the boat straight and to make
the angle as kind as possible. If the chain
is at an angle, then the windlass will have
to fight against the weight of the boat,
adding unnecessary strain on the motor.
Send a crew member to the bow and get
them to send signals to the helm so the
skipper can align the boat in the best
position to give the chain the easiest
ride back into the roller.
Use your ears, too – it’s
usually quite easy to hear
when the motor is straining
and at that point, you can
ease off for a second or
two to let it recover.
If you’re hauling a lot
of chain then it’s helpful to
do it in bursts to stop the motor
running for extended periods, or you could
haul half and give the motor a rest before
completing the job. Use your judgement – if
the motor is warm to the touch, give it a rest
for a minute and continue. Jack HainesUP THE CREEK
I have a 75ft motor boat based in the south
of France. I love the area but have recently
been questioned by a number of ports, and
in one case turned away, due to the limited
capacity of my boat’s black water tank.
Despite assurances that the tank is big
enough for our needs and that I would never
discharge it overboard until we were well
offshore, some harbour authorities still
aren’t satisfied. Do I have to find space
for a bigger black water tank or is there
another solution? Daniel Bourdon
One solution would be to fit a small sewage
treatment plant. This gets around the
whole issue of having to store your waste
on board until your next offshore cruise
and should satisfy even the most stringent
port authorities. Tecnicomar make a very
neat little plant called an ECOmar 20 which
can process up to 2,000 litres a day.
It’s smaller than a household washing
machine, connects directly to your
existing black tank and takes care of the
whole process of treating and flushing
your tanks automatically. All you need to
do is top it up with hydrogen peroxide from
time to time. Aquamare are the UK dealers
for Tecnicomar and have already fitted
ECOmar 20s to a number of similar boats
in the area. Visit http://www.aquamare.co.uk or
call them on +44 (0)1752 604603. HugoASKMBY
Fitting a treatment plant gets round
the issue of limited black water capacity
on larger boats with multiple cabinsSUNGLASSES
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