Anchoring essentials

Rupert Holmes looks at how to handle ground tackle on boats without a windlass

- Rupert Holmes

Keep a straight back when hauling the anchor and make your knees do the work

Like many boats of her size and age, and indeed a number of larger and more recent craft, Ammos has no windlass. Most Discovery 3000s now have electric windlasses, but preferring to keep the boat simple to minimise maintenance, I've resisted the temptation so far, even though I'm no longer as young as when I bought the boat 20 years ago.

A manual windlass would be a more simple option, given their relative simplicity compared to electric models. However, they are invariably tediously slow to bring in the initial sections of the rode, even when it's under very little load.

Of course this could still be done by hand, but the presence of the windlass increases the risk of trapped fingers. On the other hand, having previously sailed boats as large as 80ft without a windlass, from the outset I knew that with appropriate technique you can actually do without one.

When Ammos was a new charter yacht 30 years ago standard practice was to berth bows to a quay using a stern anchor, usually deployed in relatively shallow water, while the bow anchor was a lightweight one primarily for lunch stops. Continuing to use the boat in this manner would have been possible, but I spend many nights at anchor, so the bower needed to be upgraded to a heavier model. And even without a windlass (again with the right techniques) it's easier to anchor stern to a quay when single-handed than it is to approach bows to with a stern anchor.

Ammos anchored off the island of Paros in the Cyclades in windy conditions

Shallow water