The windlass no longer brings the anchor up: causes and what to do

The windlass is the winch that brings up the chain and the anchor. On most pleasure boats it is electric: a motor, a gearbox, a notched wheel called the gypsy that grips the chain links, and an electrical circuit running through a circuit breaker, a solenoid (a heavy-duty relay) and a control (remote, foot switch or helm switch). When it stops, it is often at the worst moment: at anchor, just before leaving. Fortunately, the cause is usually electrical and ordinary. Your windlass manufacturer’s manual always has the last word, especially for the gearbox oil and the clutch adjustment.

1. What you notice

• Nothing happens when you press the control, no sound at all.
• You hear a “click” below deck or in the locker, but the motor does not turn.
• The windlass turns slowly, struggles, then stops or trips the breaker.
• The motor turns but the gypsy slips: the chain does not come up.
• The chain jumps off the gypsy or jams.
• It goes up but no longer goes down (or the other way round).
• It works from one control but not from the other.

2. Safety first

A windlass pulls very hard and does not stop for a hand. Never put fingers, feet or clothing near the gypsy, even when it is stopped if someone could touch the control. Before any work on the windlass or its wiring, switch off its breaker or its battery isolator. At anchor, do not let the windlass hold the boat: take the load on a chain stopper or a snubber (a line with a hook), otherwise every wave strains the gearbox. Do not use the windlass to pull the boat up to the anchor: motor gently forward so that the chain comes up with almost no effort. Do not keep the control pressed for long when it struggles: the motor overheats, and many windlasses have a protection that cuts it until it cools down. Finally, if you have to leave without the windlass, check the weather and the room around you: raising an anchor and its chain by hand is real work, sometimes impossible alone.

3. Likely causes, from most to least common

• Battery too weak — a windlass draws a lot of current. With the engine off, the voltage drops and it turns badly or not at all. Many manufacturers recommend running it with the engine on, so that the alternator supports the battery.
• Breaker tripped or switch off — after too long an effort, a snagged anchor, or simply a battery isolator someone has turned off.
• Corroded or loose connection — the windlass sits at the bow, close to seawater. A green terminal or a loose nut on the motor, the solenoid or the battery makes the voltage drop: the windlass struggles, or no longer starts.
• Faulty control — the wired remote lets water in, its cable gets damaged, the foot switch corrodes. If one control works and not the other, that is where the fault is.
• Faulty solenoid (relay) — a “click” with no rotation can come from a worn contact inside the solenoid; in one direction only, it is often one of the two coils or one of the two contacts.
• Clutch too loose or too tight — on many windlasses the gypsy is held by a friction cone that you tighten with a handle. Too loose, the motor turns and the chain does not follow. Too tight or seized, free-fall lowering no longer works.
• Gypsy that does not match the chain — each gypsy is made for one precise chain diameter and calibre. A chain replaced with something “about the same”, or a badly worn one, jumps or jams.
• Chain piling up in the anchor locker — if the chain forms a heap under the windlass, it can no longer drop down the hawse pipe and blocks the recovery. Common in small, shallow lockers.
• Worn electric motor — worn brushes, a dirty commutator or a motor that has taken water: it turns in jerks or not at all.
• Faulty gearbox — grinding noise, oil leaking or contaminated with water (milky look), damaged teeth. Rarer, but more serious.

4. What you can safely check yourself

• The boat’s engine is running, and the voltage of the battery that feeds the windlass is correct.
• The windlass breaker or fuse has not tripped, and its battery isolator is on.
• Try the other control (remote, foot switch, helm switch) if you have two.
• Listen at the solenoid: a clear “click” means the control works and the fault lies further on (solenoid, cables, motor).
• With the breaker off, look at the accessible terminals and nuts: no green, no white, no play. A terminal that is hot after a test is the sign of a bad contact.
• Check the clutch tension according to the manual, and that the chain does not pile up in the locker.
• Compare the chain and the gypsy: the references (diameter, calibre) are often engraved on the gypsy or given in the manual.
• To leave straight away, most windlasses can be worked by hand with the handle supplied: learn the move at the dock on a calm day, not in an emergency.

5. When to stop and call a professional

Call a professional if the power supply is good and the motor does not turn, if the solenoid or the motor is at fault, if the gearbox is noisy or its oil has taken water, if the deck around the windlass is cracked or weeping (the windlass mounting takes huge loads), or if the supply cables get hot. A cable too thin for the distance between the battery and the bow is a common cause of a “weak” windlass: that is a job for a marine electrician. Describe what you noticed: noise or silence, in which direction, engine running or not, since when.

6. Keeping it from coming back

Always run the windlass with the engine on, in short bursts when it struggles. Rinse it with fresh water after outings and grease what the manual asks for. Once a season, take apart and clean the gypsy and the clutch following the manual, check the gearbox oil if it has any, and tighten the electrical connections, then protect them with a suitable product. Check the chain for wear: thinned links jump off the gypsy. Before leaving the boat, switch off the windlass breaker. These checks belong in the laying-up and recommissioning list, and if the windlass often feels weak, see also why batteries run flat.

In the Hullteam logbook, record the windlass servicing and any replacement of the chain, gypsy, solenoid or cables, with the date and the references: a buyer always looks at the bow of the boat, and well-kept ground tackle can be proved (see which records count).