Claw anchor for my 33 foot boat. . .

[tpenfield]

Well, I ordered a claw anchor, along with an appropriate bow roller, for my 33 foot Formula. The anchor arrived yesterday and at first glance I thought that I might have gotten too big of an anchor.

I got the 33 lb claw from Lewmar. Boat is 9K lbs dry . . . Ocean/bays. I was thinking a 22 lb would be too light, even with a fair amount of chain. So, I got the next size up which is the 33 lb'er. The anchor and roller will be a permanent install at the bow.

It just seems big . . . Thoughts?

Current anchor is a 22 lb Danforth/fluke anchor . . . Only holds well in sand or mud.

 

[Mischief Managed]

If you have a windlass, there's no reason not to go big. If you raise it manually, the 22 lb would probably be a good compromise between holding power and convenience. I know my 22lb Delta has no issues holding my 6000 lb boat and a 5000 lb that's rafted to me.

 

[alldodge]

Well, I ordered a claw anchor, along with an appropriate bow roller, for my 33 foot Formula. The anchor arrived yesterday and at first glance I thought that I might have gotten too big of an anchor.

I got the 33 lb claw from Lewmar. Boat is 9K lbs dry . . . Ocean/bays. I was thinking a 22 lb would be too light, even with a fair amount of chain. So, I got the next size up which is the 33 lb'er. The anchor and roller will be a permanent install at the bow.

It just seems big . . . Thoughts?

Current anchor is a 22 lb Danforth/fluke anchor . . . Only holds well in sand or mud.

Looks like you have what many call a Bruce anchor (I think)



It should hold and I think mine is a 20 or 22 (will go check if you like) and I'm 11K. My anchor hold very well in slate bottoms, rocks, tree stumps and such. Holds pretty well in mud and sand but if wind kicks up it can start loosing hold. A caveat to that is I usually have 2 to 4 boats tied up with and I'm all chain so they let me set first.

 

[tpenfield]

Yea, Bruce Anchor . . . claw is the generic type. Per the charts, my boat is on the very high end of what a 22 lb can do and at the low end of a 33 lb.

Well, I've got the 33 lb, so that's what I will go with. Probably gonna need to put the windlass in this year rather than wait.

 

[tpenfield]

Having given it some thought . . . I will probably order a windlass in the next few days. Looking at my project list, I plan on taking down and refurbishing the headliner in the cabin, which would be the ideal time to run the wiring for a windlass. So, my yearly boat prep budget is being stretched (again).

 

[alldodge]

Long as the stretch does cause the Admiral to snap, its all good. Do you have room for the foot switches?

 

[tpenfield]

Long as the stretch does cause the Admiral to snap, its all good. Do you have room for the foot switches?

Yea, it is a $1K stretch considering the wiring and I would need to get a new rode. As far as switches, I plan on going with the dash panel switch . . . no foot switches. Formula uses/used the Contura II line of switches from Carling Technologies for our vintage of boats.

I may just run the wiring while I have the headliner panels down, and do a wait and see on the other 'stuff'.

 

[alldodge]

Yea, it is a $1K stretch considering the wiring and I would need to get a new rode. As far as switches, I plan on going with the dash panel switch . . . no foot switches. Formula uses/used the Contura II line of switches from Carling Technologies for our vintage of boats.

I may just run the wiring while I have the headliner panels down, and do a wait and see on the other 'stuff'.

After I posted I went and looked at some more 330SS, and they didn't have them mounted inside like they do now, least that's what I was able to find. They used Contura II switches on mine as well

Info on how mine was installed, they use one switch at the helm to energize a Ford type solenoid to supply power to the main cables leading to the windless. Then a rocker switch for in/out, also have a breaker mounted in the engine room on the main cable.

I'm sure you've done the research and will do it right, never saw you do anything that wasn't, just info.

 

[tpenfield]

Yea, thanks. I have been eye-balling the Lewmar V700 vertical windlass, which is similar to OEM, but not the same. Anyway, from the wiring diagrams, etc that I have reviewed, it looks like I bring heavy amperage power ( + & - )to the bow and then 3 lighter amperage wires to the switch at the helm. Those operate a DPST solenoid to give the windlass motor its on/off and sense of direction.

I think I am looking at a 4/2 wire and a 14/3 wire . . . the 4 GA being the longest one to feed from the battery. Looks like the thing can take some amperage . . . 35 a circuit breaker is spec'd

 

[alldodge]

I have a Maxwell 500 which appears to be 600 watts (did not find breaker size, I=P/E) comes out to 50amps. I have 2AWG for everything figuring its about 35 feet away.

 

[tpenfield]

Thanks for the info on the wire size. The Lewmar may be a bit light duty for my boat . . . kind of at the high end of its recommendations. Per the installation instructions, I am looking at 4 GA so it must be 500W of power or so.

 

[alldodge]

Think the one you chose should be fine for your boat. As before I'm all chain so need a bit more power to pick it up.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Lemme know if you need a crimper for the big wires, Ted. I can borrow one of our huge crimpers from work.

 

[tpenfield]

Lemme know if you need a crimper for the big wires, Ted. I can borrow one of our huge crimpers from work.

OK, will do and thanks.

I usually just solder the terminals with a blow torch.

 

[Mischief Managed]

OK, will do and thanks.

I usually just solder the terminals with a blow torch.

Solder connections are not recommended for marine applications because they fail in a fire.

 

[tpenfield]

Solder connections are not recommended for marine applications because they fail in a fire.

In my best Johnny Carson voice . . . "I did not know that" . . . Of course, if the boat were on fire, I'm not sure what difference it would make. :noidea:

That being the case, I'll let you know about the crimper.

 

[Gyrene]

Solder connections are not recommended for marine applications because they fail in a fire.

That sounds silly. If there were a fire hot enough to melt solder, why would you want an electrical connection to remain?

 

[alldodge]

Not going to take sides either way but just thinking out loud. Ever see a cable get so hot it would melt do to a short? No fire yet but is hot enough to melt solder. That said I always tried to use soldered connections

 

[Grandad]

Not going to take sides either way but just thinking out loud. Ever see a cable get so hot it would melt do to a short? No fire yet but is hot enough to melt solder. That said I always tried to use soldered connections

The Canadian Electrical Code of construction wiring standards doesn't permit ground conductors to be soldered for that reason. If the cable should get hot enough to melt solder, you lose the safety benefit of the grounding system. It's ironic that as long as it doesn't melt, it's probably a superior connection, but if it does melt things go from bad to worse. - Grandad