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Chain often skip

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marioxp:
I have problems with the windlass, the chain can skip.  When it goes down, everything is fine, but when I raise the anchor, it can skip and jump so that it completely falls off the gypsy and then the entire chain falls uncontrollably to the bottom of the sea.   The chain and anchor are a year old, and the windlass is as old as the ship.  when I bought the chain, I asked for it to have a DIN mark ( I can't remember which one) only if I was deceived and it was not calibrated.  Can i measure the chain link to check if it is calibrated.  The anchor is 25 kg.  Or is the gypsy already worn out?

symphony2:
First the anchor is far too heavy for the boat. 16kg is norm although some might go up to 20kg if they are planning to anchor in extreme conditions. There is no benefit in having such a large anchor only negatives including putting far too much strain on the windlass. If it is the original windlass it is probably a Cayman with an 8mm gypsy that takes Lofrans chain.

sunshine:
I cant totally tell from the pic, but it looks like you do not have a straight run from the bow roller to the gypsy. The windlass looks like it it points left a little which might encourage the chain to run off the right hand side. Can you put a straight edge on the side of the gypsy to check alignment?

sunshine:
In fact, I cant even see a bow roller!

Yngmar:
This windlass on a lowered shelf design has a problem where the chain doesn't make the minimum 90 degree turn around the gypsy, so in less than ideal conditions (poorly fitting chain, worn gypsy, heavy load, etc.) the risk of chain skipping increases.

Someone here there's a thread from long ago where somebody fixed this by making a small roller that pushes the chain further around the gypsy, entirely solving the issue. Have a look around - couldn't find it in a hurry myself.

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