Fitting a powered windlass/capstan to a 411
Dear all
Any advice will be appreciated. Lars how did Nautor fit them for a customer option?
David

David

At the time of build powered windlasses were very unusual for this size of yacht.

There are several options - on deck or below, vertical or horizontal. If a long chain will be carried it is important to have a properly shaped chainbox, otherwise the chain will foul itself.

Lars

Hello Lars
Would you say that the chain should be routed from the deck to front cabin through a tube to avoid the 411's bow sensitivity? I would dearly like to hear from Oracabessa as this problem has been solved I believe?

Best regards
David

David

If you know the weight and position of the chain you can try out the influence on the flotation by standing people with the corresponding weight in the intended longitudinal position. This requires that the yacht is in the water.

If she is on the hard a calculation can be done, but the flotation without chain may not be defined well enough. Does she have trim screws at bow and stern?

Kind regards

Lars

Please see photos. This was set up with 50m of 3/8 chain plus 50m braided line.

Any changes in weight distribution is corrected by 6 man Liferaft . When you stow the chain long term, make sure it falls behind the wet locker. This position is further back and lower down in the hull. I have put a plastic sleeve over the top edge to reduce the wear. I also have  plastic mat in the bottom of the wet locker so the wet chain does not sit in salty water.

John Bailey

Swan 411 Avista 

Thank you for information John and the great photographs.
Have you inserted any drain holes from the wet locker?
How do you stop sea water backing down the chain hole when at sea?
Do you use an anchor roller?
Have you routed power from your service batteries or have you installed an additional battery in the battery box?
Sorry for all the questions but it is always better to learn from the experience of others.

Best regards

David

Dear all Any advice will be appreciated. Lars how did Nautor fit them for a customer option? David

David.

I fitted a windlass to Hierro last winter. 

I wanted to keep the weight as far aft as possible so we installed it just foward of the main cleats to starboard of the centreline. the windlass was a Lofrans 1500 with a warping drum on top. as we usually sail short handed the option of having a "powered winch" available overcame the extra clutter on deck.

The 10mm chain falls into the focs`l just aft of the low bulkhead part way down the forepeak, into a builder/gardeners plastic "trug" this sits on a simple glassed in platform and keeps any mud or weed that comes in with the chain out of the bilge. It also, as Lars mentions, prevents the chain "capsizing" and jamming.

we keep the boat on a swinging mooring so the anchor is normally stowed below and the chain also. to keep the water from entering the chain hole I fabricated a Delrin tube the same bore as the hole fron the windlass, this has a flange which is screwed into the underside of the deck. I fitted the tube with a delrin "plug" having an O,ring seal on it. this has been watertight during some "wet passages" however we also made a canvas cover for the windlass to help stop sheets etc from fouling the drum, when tacking. this with hindsight seems to have itself ,kept water out.

I managed to feed the wiring down the starboard side of the saloon through one of the existing ducts, which ends behind the toilet compartment lockers. To make the installation easier I terminated the wiring in this area with crimped on lugs and made a bolted joint, this made the pulling through of the wiring much easier. I took a feed off the main service batteries via a circuit breaker.

Having had problems in the past with foot operated switches and not wanting the make further holes in the deck I fitted a toggle switch just inside the forehatch at high level and installed a Vetus wireless remote control. this has been very successful

hope this is of assistance.

regards

Paul  411-042

Hello Paul
Thank you very much for your reply. Is the chain fed through a length of Delrin tube from the deck to the chain box? Do you have any photographs?
Regards
David

David.

The chain is fed through the tube, which is 80mm outside diameter and approx 200mm long. to feed the chain up to the windlass I drop a loop of light line around the windlass drum on deck,feed it through the chain hole and with a hitch on the end of the chain simply pull it up and around the gipsy.this works well.The delrin tube was made the size to was, to enable it to fit to 80mm plastic drainage pipewok to extend it downwards if required. I have left it short as the chain drops into the stowage bin easily and there is much less chance of a snarl up as it is.The forepeak has a headlining further aft than the installation in Johns photo. I managed to fit the motor up tight to the headlining with only the windlass mounting flange and chain pipe area being cut out. I also managed to feed the wiring between the headlining and underside of the deck making it a neater installation.As we use the forepeak primarilly for stowage I have not attempted to box the windlass in.

I will take a photo when next on board and let you have a copy.

Regards Paul

Marvin.

Wet locker holes already in place. I use the original Swan bow roller which is just about fit for purpose. It really needs replacing with a more modern design. The anchor is held in place with the Swan clamp, this works well. The power cable runs along the original conduit as per Pauls note. The batteries used are the domestic ones. I tend to have my engine running when anchoring. I have also added a Lewer chain stopper, as you should not leave the yachts weight on the windlass. I stuff a rag into the windlass, which if you look at the picture has the opening towards the stern, very little water gets in. You may need to change you chain as I did, as the windlass will only work properly with CALIBRATED chain.

John