hi all - I've had my Nimble 30 for about three years, but as i mostly use moorings or marinas i still haven't worked out the winch-handle-style manual windlass. i know how to slack it off to drop anchor, and i know how to wind in the chain which drops neatly into the anchor well, but i don't get the rode part at all. if i try to use the windlass to bring it in, it buckles up and jams rather than going down into the anchor well. is it supposed to push into the well the way the chain does? and if so does that mean my rode is the wrong kind? I'm mystified. today i pulled up the rode by hand, lifted the anchor well lid and pulled the rode through by hand before dropping the lid and winching up the chain. any advice appreciated...
Do you have a PIver Nimble trimaran? If so, you gotta post some shots. I had a 24ft Nugget, nice little boat.
I had a Maxwell rotary style windlass on the next trimaran, a Twiggy, and then on our 38ft cat. It got offloaded and now we have an electric one. I never got the rope to wind up, it always clogged the hawse pipe. So we just got 33 m of 8 mm chain and everything was fine. Whenever we let out more I would have to haul it up by hand until I could drop the chain over - did that for about 15 years.
cheers
Phil
thanks Phil. i might try that
and no, my boat is a ted brewer designed mono hull with cutter or sloop rig - there are only 29 in the world!
An anchor-rode is the connection system between the anchor and the boat and its sturdiness during mooring is undoubtedly essential. The critical point is the splice where the rope and chain are connected.
Just sayin. 
