adding a pulpit and windlass?

[scalywag05]

Hey guys.....I am going to order a pulpit from parker for my 03 2120. Anyone install one? What windlass do you recommend? My uncle and I installed a windlass on his 26' shamrock with a rope "good" freefall windlass but i think that is overkill for my parker. I deff want a free drop. Would love to see some pics of what some of you guys have. Thanks -Joe

 

[BradV]

Lots of stuff on it in here. To my knowledge the 700 Pro Fish from Lewmar is one of only a few that have freefall. Probably cost 700-900 depending on where you get it for the windlass then make sure you spend the money on 8 plait rode or youll just be pissed that the windlass doesnt work ever. Did you look at just adding a bow roller instead of putting a pulpit on?

 

[jeffnick]

I had reservations about mounting the windlass this way, but figured it was worth a try because it was so convenient/easy. No modifications were necessary save new holes in the deck for the hinge fasteners. Everything is thru bolted. After installation I switched the windlass on in the up position while the anchor was firmly seated in the pulpit. The motor stalled without deforming or doing damage to anything.

For our purposes no chain is necessary...this keeps thinks tidy and simple.

Mokee will probably be along to tell you what he thinks about the setup.

 

[Porkchunker]

No chain?

I've had trouble getting the OEM danforth anchor to hold with the standard 10' of chain. Went to 30' and I never have it fail to grab.

Chapman's recommends at least the boat length...preferably 1.5 times boat length...of chain on the anchor rode.

Dave

aka

 

[Bryan 2530]

Chain is a must for me, especially if you sleep on the hook.

I doubled mine with a plow.

 

[Megabyte]

He is in SC on the ICW. Different circumstances I would guess.
If it works, go for it!

 

[CaptainJim]

i run 25 feet of acco high test chain on my windlass..with an over sized danforth anchor. The currents on the ebb here are pretty ridiculous, and if you are anchoring on mussel beds, once your anchor breaks you are done for - time for a haul and reset.

I use a powerwinch freefall model. It's ok, it jams sometimes (if you dont have enough tension on it) and it slips sometimes (if you have TOO much tension on it) and the freefall doesn't work very well anymore. I'll be buying a lewmar freefall if I ever replace it.

My older parker did NOT have a pulpit. I through bolted a chrome anchor roller on it instead of doing the whole pulpit route - works pretty darned nice - AND i dont have to pay extra in marinas because its *not* a pulpit!

 

[Mokee]

Jeffnick said

Mokee will probably be along to tell you what he thinks about the setup.

The Pro Fish 700 would be the closest to my windlass. I love the setup and don't know how I got along w/o it - 1/2" rope attached to a #22 Delta anchor and a Horizon 400 windlass. The rope and anchor in Nick's picture are a bit over sized for a 2120. Ranger Tim has a 2120 with a Horizon 600. Maybe he'll chime in about his setup.

We sometimes anchor 5 times or more in a typical day and this setup really makes it easy. Probably wouldn't go this route (chainless) in the Northwest & Alaska or New England, but for the bottoms we typically anchor over its proven OK. Usually, I anchor the Mokee D and Nick rafts his boat up to us. Never had a problem setting or retrieving (yet).

Interesting story about how I came to own the Delta Quick Set. Before I had the current setup, Nick and I did a trip visiting all the harbors along the west coast of Lake Michigan aboard the Mokee Dugway. The last day we stopped and had lunch on the hook at Chicago Harbor in an area known as the Rocking Chair. After lunch, Nick went forward to raise the #8 danforth, and it wouldn't budge. I went forward to help. Together we were barely able to recover my anchor. One of the tines was hooked on the last link of 20' of chain that was shackled to the Delta. We reasoned that somebody bought a new cruiser from a dealer that didn't attach the chain to the rope before delivering the new boat. The captain using the new windlass promptly lost his new Delta when the chain played out. It was my gain.

 

[jeffnick]

No chain?

I've had trouble getting the OEM danforth anchor to hold with the standard 10' of chain. Went to 30' and I never have it fail to grab.

Chapman's recommends at least the boat length...preferably 1.5 times boat length...of chain on the anchor rode.

Dave

aka

I wonder if Chapman's guidelines are for all size anchors. It would seem to me the dynamics would be different for say a 150# Navy than they would for a 10# Navy. I use this example because I had a 10# Navy and I couldn't get it to set even on an all chain rode, but you see those big Navy anchors on so many military ships, so they must work.

And y'all got me to thinking about where I have anchored with no chain. Lets see:
Lake Michigan
Block Island
Hudson River
Inside DelMarVa
Chesapeake Bay
All up and down the Atlantic ICW
Bimini and Gun Cay - Bahamas
Key West
Ft Myers
Tampa
Panama City
Pensacola
New Orleans
San Diego
Long Beach
San Francisco and up in the Delta
Columbia River/Portland
Alaskan and Canadian Inside Passage
And too many inland waters to mention.
Much of the time, we anchor overnight.

Primary anchor is a genuine 8S Danforth that's held the 2120 rafted to my 1850 in some pretty snotty stuff overnight.

To complete the picture we generally use 5:1 or less scope; seldom in over 20' of water.

As always YMMV.

 

[ReelyNauti]

just curious where did yo u anchor in Block island?

 

[BradV]

It is obviously possible to anchor without chain in shallower water. The thing that the chain helps with if you ever anchor then go look at your rode with snorkel or scuba is when your boat is moving with the waves. The weight of the chain is what allows the shank of the anchor to stay in the ground without moving. I have 30' of chain and notice that about 15 feet is laying flat on the ground then the rest is gradually arced into line with the rope. When the waves push the boat up then a few feet of chain gets picked up off the bottom and then lays back when the waves come back. If, if , if you had a strong enough wind or current that pushes the line so taught that it made a straight line then you could potentially have the anchor slip but with that much rode out 5:1 you wouldnt notice or once it had any slack from slipping would probably end up just resetting. Plus your anchor is for a 25' boat and its on a 21 so its all good.

 

[grouperjim]

sweet design.

.........never a hick up. 8)

 

[ReelyNauti]

how many feet of 1/2" line?

chain?

how do u access if you have a jam? do u go in cabin and crawl ?

 

[BradV]

Reely who you asking?

 

[grouperjim]

.......Jeffnick didn't have any chain so i think me.


RN.........it has never jammed or had a problem. on the newer 2320, the access hatch is easy access, as the interior cabin is open and not sectioned off. prior to the mod (mounted on rear of pulpit), it would jam at the worst times. when it did, i fixed it by going thru the hatch you see there.

check the pic. 400 ft 8 plait 35 ft 1/4 chain. you can search my name for the project details and more info.

 

[jeffnick]

just curious where did yo u anchor in Block island?

We splashed at Orient Point on Long Island, then tied up for the day to do some exploring on Block Island, then dropped the hook in Great Salt Pond for the night.

Pics here:
http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n171 ... ?start=all

 

[ReelyNauti]

I will put up an old post soon from my last boat where i installed a Lewmar Pro fish 700 free fall.....

I fish deep and needed minimum of 320 ' of 1/2 and 15' of chain the problem was that i testes the rhode locker and i maxxed out ... meaning the mfg...specifications of 12" of clearance from bottom of unit to where rope and chain finish at the result was i had to cut off 40' to stop the back feeding/jambing......then i got creative did a split locker door and was able to access when it did jamb but all said and done i have learned thru three boats and a lot of cash that a windlass is nice but not for everyone, the lewmar is a fine unit ill post some picks today or tomorrow

Cant fish a 110' wreck with a windlass u cant get 400 feet of rope in the parker locker.... trust me i tried doesnt fit at all....... BUT if u get a capstand unit and run guides down the gunels to a small plastic can using 3/8' u can get 600'0- 1000' feet so if i set up the new 2820 with a unit it will be a double anchor rig with 2 - 600' 3/8" anchor set ups but for now ill admire what all of you had check out my bounty.... lots a 8 to 10 lbers down deep you just gotta be able to find the deep pieces and stay on top of em !!!

 

[grouperjim]

.......... u cant get 400 feet of rope in the parker locker.... trust me i tried doesnt fit at all.......

nice fish.


to be honest, i have never been on a 2820.

all anchor line is not the same. in my 2320 i can easily fit another 150 ft on top of the 400 ft i have already and still be well below the 3 inch hole above. part of this is due to moving the 3 inch hole directly over the deepest part of the anchor locker, which it is not in the factory configuration.

if you look at the pic in my previous post........fwd of the rode pile you can see a couple of pieces of protective plastic material, which is where the line used to pile before moving the hole.

8 plait line is a special line that collapses tightly upon itself and does not hockle or tangle.

check it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised. the only tricky part is the special knot required to join it to your chain.

 

[pelagic2530]

.......... u cant get 400 feet of rope in the parker locker.... trust me i tried doesnt fit at all.......

nice fish.


to be honest, i have never been on a 2820.

all anchor line is not the same. in my 2320 i can easily fit another 150 ft on top of the 400 ft i have already and still be well below the 3 inch hole above. part of this is due to moving the 3 inch hole directly over the deepest part of the anchor locker, which it is not in the factory configuration.

if you look at the pic in my previous post........fwd of the rode pile you can see a couple of pieces of protective plastic material, which is where the line used to pile before moving the hole.

8 plait line is a special line that collapses tightly upon itself and does not hockle or tangle.

check it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised. the only tricky part is the special knot required to join it to your chain.

thats interesting, i have over 600' of 3-strand in my anchor locker. jams up a bit to start with, someone may have to go below and remove kinks (more a feature of the line than the windlass) but overall it fits fine.

 

[BradV]

this should be interesting...