WINCH TERMINOLOGY

Winch or windlass: Traditionally, a windlass is the mechanism specifically used for raising and lowering the anchor, while a winch is a device for hauling on a sheet. A sailboat may have several winches for pulling the sheets (ropes) that control the sails, while there is usually only one windlass for the anchor. But the term ‘anchor winch’ has become almost universal, except among the purists.

Capstan and chainwheel: A capstan is a round drum the rode grips through friction. Most manual winches have capstans, and these usually require that pressure is maintained on the tail end of the rope (unless they’re a self-tailing winch).

Automatic winches incorporate a geared wheel known as a chainwheel or a gypsy, which has teeth to grip the chain and (in most designs) an inner surface to grip rope as well. Note that a capstan can work with any diameter rope, while the chainwheel is designed to work with a very specific chain size and rope diameter. The wrong size will simply slip or jam.

Vertical or horizontal: Vertical systems (with the motor beneath the deck) take up less deck space and are neater, easier to maintain and many believe they grip the rode better. Horizontal models usually have the motor above deck and are suited to applications with limited below-deck accessibility or extreme deck thickness.

Automatic free-fall capability (where a clutch allows the anchor to drop quickly for fast precision anchoring) is usually only available on horizontal winches, due to the design of the clutch mechanism. Most winch types will allow manual free-fall, using a winch handle, if required. Fall: All winches except a drum design (see below) rely on gravity causing the rode to fall through a hole into the anchor well (or chain locker) below the deck. This requires sufficient space below the winch for this to work, and also means that anchor rope needs to be soft enough to drop smoothly into a pile and not tangle up. The exact height required depends on the type of winch and rope diameter – winch manufacturers provide specifications for their models.

Rode, rope, chain and scope: Anchors are connected to the boat via a length of chain and a longer piece of rope. Together they are referred to as the rode. Larger boats may have an all-chain rode. The scope is the amount of rode that you let out, and depending on conditions this may need to be as much as five times the water depth.

Drum versus traditional fall: Drum winches are a relatively new style of winch, where the entire rode is wound up onto a drum rather than dropping loose into the anchor well. Since the rope does not need to grip the gypsy these models can use thinner, stiffer and smoother rope, and they eliminate tangles in the rode.

They can also be fitted into shallow anchor wells with insufficient height for the fall necessary for other anchor types. However, they have a finite capacity and limited power, so generally suit smaller vessels.