Anchor winch
One of the jobs I tried to avoid when sailing was to lift the anchor by hand. This was always a job delegated to a crew if one was available.
The first thing I did was to replace the old Danforth anchor, which was heavy and occasionally drifted in a wind change, with a new G-16 Guardian anchor, only 7Lb or 3.2 Kg in weight. This anchor has the best holding in sand and soft bottoms than any other anchor. For me it has also set first time every time. I also replaced the old hard 3 strand twisted rope, which was not very kind to my hands, with a new soft braid rope.
Next, was how to make the job of pulling up a well set anchor easier, especially if some wind was blowing. Glenn Taylor, the previous webmaster was a great help, he recently sold his Spacesailer and bought a Bavaria 40, and while searching new toys for his Bavaria he found a new Quick Capstain anchor winch. He called me to tell me what he had found and to see if I was interested, the price was certainly right, and the rest is history.
On mounting the winch I did not want to interfere with the large bow cleat as Pekeri is on a mooring, so by trial and error I lined up the anchor rope from the bow roller to the new capstain, I decided that mounting the winch slightly forward and to the side the angle of pull was still almost a straight line. This position allowed the motor to line up nicely in front of the anchor locker on the underside.
After some research and questions I decided a new marine grade starting battery was the go for the winch. - lots of amps over a sustained period. All cables from battery to motor are thick 2G for minimum loss. I located the battery under the forward bunk, with ventilation, to keep the cable runs as short as possible. The location of the foot switch was located by practicing an anchor lift and seeing were I was comfortable with my foot, knee or hand to activate the switch. Also I used the pullpit staunchion to provide additional protection to the switch.
The finished installation was tested by anchoring in 15kn wind and let the anchor set nice and firm. Then, without engine assistance, pulled up the anchor by using only the winch to pull the boat against the wind until the anchor was free and raised. Worked like a charm.
For battery charging I ran 8g wires to the main neutral bar and connected the positive to the Battery No.2 on the one, two or both master switch. I use a deep cycle for house and the starting battery for the anchor winch. When I am away the switch is set to charge the house battery and when I am sailing I switch to charging the anchor battery from the same 20W solar panel. The same voltmeter connected to the switch is used to monitor the condition of both batteries. So far all is working well and no problems have arisen.