Electric Anchor Windlass installation on Cal 34-III

Hello, We recently purchased a 1976 Cal 34 III and are going through the usual new owner process of upgrading and adding new kit to the boat. One of the top items on our list is to add a heavier anchor and more chain as we are hoping to cruise N from Seattle towards Alaska someday (should we ever get to retirement!). A heavier anchor (20 kgs) and chain will be more than we can handle through brute force like we did for many years on our Cal 2-27. The question we have is, the Cal 34 model we purchased comes with an anchor locker at the bow which makes installing a windlass.....interesting. We've been researching, reading and dock walking and still aren't sure how to go about it. Has anyone on this list made such an installation working around/within/on top of the existing anchor locker on a Cal 34? We'd love to hear from others that may have done this, pictures would be especially helpful if you have them! Thank you for any words of wisdom and experience you can share! Nancy and John Williams Cal 34 III Jamea Everett, WA ps - our current moorage in Everett has 5 Cal 34's in good condition on just our dock alone (none with an anchor windlass)!

Nancy and John, I can’t speak to the 34, but Nemesis has a small anchor locker in front of the V berth, with no deck access. We mounted a LEWMAR 700 at the very back of the locker and dump 200 feet of 1/4” chain and 120 feet of 1/2” nylon into it. The chain pile requires constant “stirring”, but it fits. That and a 30# CQR tend to keep the boat in place. To deal with all that weight in the pointy end, I am considering cutting the chain into two one hundred foot lengths and spicing the nylon in the middle. This would give me 100 feet of chain followed by 120 of nylon, and should be adequate for most situations. The second 100 feet of chain I would store at the bulkhead end of the v-berth bilge, all spliced in and ready to go. That would move 100# aft and down, but would require puling the v-berth mattress to re-stow the second piece of chain if it were ever deployed. I like the idea, and I’ve had some positive comment on it. You’re welcome to check out my installation if you’re ever down in the South Sound. Or better still, someone may take it upon themselves to organize a Puget Sound Cal Rendezvous. We had a couple in the past and they were fun and well attended. Just saying… Fred Haas 3-30 Nemesis Tacoma YC On May 8, 2017, at 3:49 PM, nl… [at] gmail.com [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > Hello, > > We recently purchased a 1976 Cal 34 III and are going through the usual new owner process of upgrading and adding new kit to the boat. One of the top items on our list is to add a heavier anchor and more chain as we are hoping to cruise N from Seattle towards Alaska someday (should we ever get to retirement!). A heavier anchor (20 kgs) and chain will be more than we can handle through brute force like we did for many years on our Cal 2-27. > > > > The question we have is, the Cal 34 model we purchased comes with an anchor locker at the bow which makes installing a windlass.....interesting. We've been researching, reading and dock walking and still aren't sure how to go about it. Has anyone on this list made such an installation working around/within/on top of the existing anchor locker on a Cal 34? > > > > We'd love to hear from others that may have done this, pictures would be especially helpful if you have them! > > > > Thank you for any words of wisdom and experience you can share! > > Nancy and John Williams > > Cal 34 III Jamea > > Everett, WA > > > > ps - our current moorage in Everett has 5 Cal 34's in good condition on just our dock alone (none with an anchor windlass)! > > >

John, It sounds like your anchor locker is similar to that on the Cal 2-39. I have a horizontal windlass (Simpson Lawrence H3) installed inside the locker on a bracket attached to the bulkhead. Everything, 90' chain, nylon rode and spare anchor and rode, is inside the anchor locker. I don't know if your anchor locker is large enough for this arrangement but the H3 is certainly hefty enough to deal with a 20 kg anchor. I Used a backing plate inside the bulkhead at the V berth (recessed to be flush and hidden by a mirror). I also added a diagonal brace for lateral stiffness (ss tubing with flattened ends) from the forward-port corner of the bracket to the port edge of the bulkhead. Here's the bracket I had fabricated. Good luck. Duane Duane Knize S/V Marlyn 1978 Cal 2-39 #18 berthed: Emeryville, CA kn… [at] san.rr.com On 5/8/2017 3:49 PM, nl… [at] gmail.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: > > Hello, > > We recently purchased a 1976 Cal 34 III and are going through the > usual new owner process of upgrading and adding new kit to the boat. > One of the top items on our list is to add a heavier anchor and more > chain as we are hoping to cruise N from Seattle towards Alaska someday > (should we ever get to retirement!). A heavier anchor (20 kgs) and > chain will be more than we can handle through brute force like we did > for many years on our Cal 2-27. > > > The question we have is, the Cal 34 model we purchased comes with an > anchor locker at the bow which makes installing a > windlass.....interesting. We've been researching, reading and dock > walking and still aren't sure how to go about it. Has anyone on this > list made such an installation working around/within/on top of the > existing anchor locker on a Cal 34? > > > We'd love to hear from others that may have done this, pictures would > be especially helpful if you have them! > > > Thank you for any words of wisdom and experience you can share! > > Nancy and John Williams > > Cal 34 III Jamea > > Everett, WA > > > ps - our current moorage in Everett has 5 Cal 34's in good condition > on just our dock alone (none with an anchor windlass)! > >

Hi, Duane. What size wire did you use to hook up the windlass and how far is it from your battery bank? I imagine the windlass draws some hefty current. Many Thanks Charlie Annapolis From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2017 8:20 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com; nl… [at] gmail.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Electric Anchor Windlass installation on Cal 34-III [1 Attachment] [Attachment(s) from Duane Knize Boat included below] John, It sounds like your anchor locker is similar to that on the Cal 2-39. I have a horizontal windlass (Simpson Lawrence H3) installed inside the locker on a bracket attached to the bulkhead. Everything, 90' chain, nylon rode and spare anchor and rode, is inside the anchor locker. I don't know if your anchor locker is large enough for this arrangement but the H3 is certainly hefty enough to deal with a 20 kg anchor. I Used a backing plate inside the bulkhead at the V berth (recessed to be flush and hidden by a mirror). I also added a diagonal brace for lateral stiffness (ss tubing with flattened ends) from the forward-port corner of the bracket to the port edge of the bulkhead. Here's the bracket I had fabricated. Good luck. Duane Duane Knize S/V Marlyn 1978 Cal 2-39 #18 berthed: Emeryville, CA kn… [at] san.rr.com <mailto:kn… [at] san.rr.com>

Charlie, I invested in a spool of red and a spool of black of #2 AWG wire. The run is about 30 feet to a 100 amp breaker and to the starting battery. The expected voltage drop is about 1.5 V (at 85 A, nominal per SL). The windlass is used with the engine running so the voltage is somewhat above 12V/./ I was able to fish them through the existing 1 1/2" PVC cable conduit which I extended to the anchor locker. Duane Duane J. Knize home: 858-456-2182 mobile: 858-366-2752 kn… [at] san.rr.com On 5/9/2017 6:34 PM, 'Charlie Husar' hu… [at] gmail.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: > > Hi, Duane. What size wire did you use to hook up the windlass and how > far is it from your battery bank? I imagine the windlass draws some > hefty current. > > Many Thanks > > Charlie > > Annapolis > > *From:*Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] > *Sent:* Tuesday, May 09, 2017 8:20 PM > *To:* Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com; nl… [at] gmail.com > *Subject:* Re: [Cal_Boats] Electric Anchor Windlass installation on > Cal 34-III [1 Attachment] > > *[Attachment(s) <#TopText> from Duane Knize Boat included below]* > > > John, > > It sounds like your anchor locker is similar to that on the Cal 2-39. > I have a horizontal windlass (Simpson Lawrence H3) installed inside > the locker on a bracket attached to the bulkhead. Everything, 90' > chain, nylon rode and spare anchor and rode, is inside the anchor locker. > > I don't know if your anchor locker is large enough for this > arrangement but the H3 is certainly hefty enough to deal with a 20 kg > anchor. I Used a backing plate inside the bulkhead at the V berth > (recessed to be flush and hidden by a mirror). I also added a diagonal > brace for lateral stiffness (ss tubing with flattened ends) from the > forward-port corner of the bracket to the port edge of the bulkhead. > > Here's the bracket I had fabricated. > > Good luck. > Duane > > > > Duane Knize > S/V Marlyn > 1978 Cal 2-39 #18 > berthed: Emeryville, CA > kn… [at] san.rr.com <mailto:kn… [at] san.rr.com> >