How to Maintain an Anchor Windlass and Inspect and Mark Your Anchor Rode

Turn off the windlass breaker or isolator, or the main battery switch. Secure the anchor to a cleat with a chain hook or a short line so it can't move, and block the chain pipe so chain can't slide back down into the locker (BoatUS suggests a large screwdriver through a link).

Rinse off salt, mud and sand. Look for corrosion, especially the white powder on aluminum castings, cracks around the base and a base that isn't sitting flat on the deck. Clear mud from the crevices around the base so the deck drains.

Following your manual, remove the clutch handle nut, outer clutch cone and chain wheel (gypsy). Lay parts on a towel in the order they came off. Clean old grease, salt and grit off every part. Check the clutch cone mating surfaces and the gypsy for heavy scoring or wear. A worn gypsy lets chain jump.

Lightly grease the clutch cones, shaft and any plastic spacers with the maker's waterproof marine grease. Maxwell calls periodic greasing of the clutch cones essential. On models with a brake band, clean it and the surface under it and leave them dry: BoatUS warns never to grease brake surfaces.

Where stainless screws thread into an aluminum body, take them out one at a time, clean them and put them back with anti-seize such as Tef-Gel. That stops them from corroding solid. Do one at a time so you don't open the gearbox by accident.

• Motor on deck (horizontal): check the cover gasket or O-ring that keeps water out; BoatUS treats it as critical.
• Motor below deck (vertical): look for rust, water running down the shaft and flaking paint. Maxwell says neglect of the electric motor is one of the most common causes of windlass failure.
• Gearbox: if yours has a sight glass or fill plug, check the oil level. BoatUS says oil that looks milky or gooey has water in it and should be changed; gritty oil means internal wear for a pro to look at. Some gearboxes are sealed and only serviced at long intervals. Use the oil type and level in your manual.

Under deck, check the terminals on the motor, the reversing solenoid (contactor), the foot or helm switches, the breaker or isolator and the battery. They should be tight, clean and not discolored by heat. Look for chafed or strained wires. Coat terminals with terminal grease and spray under-deck parts with a corrosion inhibitor, as Maxwell recommends. Check that foot-switch covers aren't cracked; water under them rusts the contacts.

With the anchor secured and the area clear:

• Nothing at all, no click: check that the breaker or isolator hasn't tripped (windlass breakers trip on overload, often after a stuck anchor). Then the battery switch, any small fuse in the switch circuit, and the switch itself.
• Solenoid clicks, motor doesn't turn: usually low voltage or a bad connection in the heavy cables. With the engine running, have a helper press the switch while you read voltage at the motor terminals. Good voltage at the motor and still no turn points to the motor or gearbox.
• Slow or stalls under load: weak batteries, long or undersized cables, or corroded joints. Run the engine while you use it.
• Chain jumps off the gypsy: Maxwell stresses the chain must match the gypsy. Practical Sailor adds that new jumping can mean damaged links.
• Jams partway up, or chain won't feed down the pipe: often the chain has piled into a cone right under the chain pipe and has nowhere to fall. Maxwell lists the "depth of fall" into the locker as part of choosing a windlass for this reason. Stop, knock the pile down in the locker, and feed slowly; a chain that doesn't match the gypsy can also jam in the pipe.
• Runs by itself, won't stop, or the foot switches work even with the helm windlass switch off: turn the windlass isolator or main battery switch off right away. A stuck contactor (solenoid) or a relay that is held on can keep power on the motor or the switches, so a kicked foot switch can drop the anchor. Leave the isolator off and have a marine electrician find it before using the windlass again.

High-current DC wiring can burn you and start fires. If you are not comfortable taking voltage readings, leave diagnosis past the breaker and fuse to a marine electrician.

At least once a year, run all the rode out at the dock or on a clean surface (Southern Boating suggests letting it run straight down in your slip). Practical Sailor's checklist:

• Anchor: bent shank or flukes, rust where the galvanizing is gone
• Chain: rust, worn or bent links. Practical Sailor says flip the chain end for end each year to spread the wear, and re-galvanize or replace it once rust appears.
• Rope: chafe, cut strands, hard or glazed spots, discoloration
• Shackles: properly sized and the pins moused (secured) with stainless wire, not plastic ties
• Locker: clear the rusty chain pile, hose it out and make sure its drain is open

On a rope-and-chain rode, the splice to the chain stays wet longest and rusts the link it grips. Practical Sailor says it should be tight with no corrosion on the link. If it is chafed, loose or the link is rusty, cut off the splice and a few feet of rope and re-splice. The splice has to be the type that passes through your windlass; follow your windlass maker's or a rigger's instructions.

Marks tell you how much rode is out. Southern Boating's simple scheme: paint a two-foot band red at 25 feet, white at 50, blue at 75 and yellow at 100, then repeat with two yellow bands at 200. Snap-in rode markers work too. Maxwell suggests letting out at least three times the water depth with all-chain and at least five times with rope-and-chain in sheltered conditions, plus more for tide and wind.

The inboard end of the rode must be tied to the boat so you can't lose it all. Southern Boating prefers a length of rope that reaches up into the locker and can be cut with a knife in an emergency, rather than a shackle that can rust shut. Retrieve the rode while rinsing it with fresh water and let it pile loosely so it runs out cleanly next time.

Restore power, unsecure the anchor and run the windlass both ways. Listen for grinding, check the clutch releases and grips, and watch that the chain feeds smoothly. When stowed, secure the anchor with a pin, line or snubber; Maxwell says not to rely on the windlass to hold it in the roller. Log the date in BoatMend.