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Just a cautionary note

5K views 39 replies 37 participants last post by  Padeen2 
#1 ·
. . . . . and perhaps unnecessary for the wise amongst us.

When there is a problem with your anchor winch, stay the heck away and carefully figure out what to do before doing anything.

We were out on our annual sailing holiday and were anchored shallower (but not seriously shallower) than we should have been. I wanted to ensure that when the tide turned an hour later, we wouldn't be blown further into the shallows so I went up on deck and hauled up the slack on the anchor chain using the anchor winch.

The winch started running as expected but when I let the control go, the winch never stopped. The boat was semi-aground in soft mud so wasn't going to move and thus the chain went tight, jumped out of the gypsy, did this again a few times so without thinking, I waited for it to jump again and grabbed the chain to keep it out of the gypsy. As I did, the tail fell back into the gypsy and before I knew it, my hand was drawn in.

OK I know there will be many automatic responses of "You should know better". Believe me, that has been said to me by everyone I know, everyone in the hospital and many times by myself so save it.

Anyway, luckily the chain jumped again just a second before it went bar-tight and I got my hand out.

So, purpose of this post? Just a warning of what can happen.



I think the surgeons have managed to save the end of the finger. I'll have the rest of my sailing holiday at home thinking about how to avoid this in the future and to find out what went wrong with the winch.
 
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#23 · (Edited)
Can we add a warning for those eating chips and salsa while reading?
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I agree (and I'm serious). You might want to edit your post to indicate whats comming in the photo. I don't have a weak stomach but I wasn't quite prepared for that! I think an "anchor winch" is a Windlass BTW. As you now know, fingers don't belong near winches or a windlass. You're very lucky you got your hand back. Did you figure out why the windlass woudn't shut off?
 
#10 ·
Andre

My left thumb got "flicked" by an anchor chain. I can empathize.

Jack
 
#12 ·
Yep glad to see you sill got the most of it !

Ah Well it's the little things that keep us AWAKE & LEARNING , I stil haven't stopped learning at 53 years young!

My sig fits well in these situations.....Heres to hopeing you find the Head nurse ;)
 
#13 ·
Andre

My left thumb got "flicked" by an anchor chain. I can empathize.

Jack
Sandy, my wife got nicked by the windlass two summers ago. Gosh, nothing as bad as this though. That's going to be a funny looking finger and might win some bragging stories at the pub in the future.
 
#18 ·
Is the tendon still intact?

I hope you heal up well (physically and mentally).
A few weeks ago I saw a salty old sailor who had nearly taken a finger off. He was more upset that nobody would wash the blood off his boat before it dried. :laugher
 
#28 ·
Damn, that's nasty… hope you're on the mend quickly, and recover full use of that finger…

Just curious, have you determined the cause of the failure of the motor to stop? Do you have deck mounted foot switches? Have I mentioned I HATE windlass foot switches? (grin) There are few things more more exposed to the elements, and prone to failure on a cruising boat than those freakin' things, and they just happen to control one of the most dangerous pieces of machinery on board. Your accident certainly is a reminder for the need for a routine inspection/maintenance of whatever controls one is using for their windlass… Personally, I think a hard-wired remote control with its connection made inside the boat, and fed out on deck through a hatch or portlight, is a better solution than footswitches mounted through the deck…

Also, something may be amiss with your setup, your chain really shouldn't be jumping out of the gypsy like it did... Are you certain the chain and gypsy are properly matched? Sometimes, even the slightest mismatch between standard and metric sizing, or BBB and hi-test chain can work seamlessly, until it's really put to the test, in a situation like the one you faced...

Your story is a reminder of one of the most disturbing trends I see out there today, as bigger and bigger boats are being sailed by cruisers with less and less experience… Modern boats are becoming increasingly dependent on electric winches and furling gear, and I'm afraid many of them are being used by people who lack a full appreciation of how dangerously powerful some of this stuff can be. As a result, gear breakage and/or injury is a real possibility… When such an accident can so easily happen to someone as obviously experienced as yourself, it's not hard to imagine how easy it can be for someone with less familiarity in dealing with some of the extreme loads common on boats of the size so many cruisers are sailing, today…
 
#29 ·
Anytime you have moving parts, fingers are at risk. be careful out there. I'm just strong enough to hold my boat against the anchor in moderate conditions. I recently sailed on a buddies boat that was just a little heavier in slightly worse conditions. I suddenly relised as I was pulling up the anchor and it caught on something I was not going to be able to pull it as the weight of the boat came against the chain and it ripped from my hands. I narrowly missed getting a hand cut open by the shackle safety wire as it slid through my hand. I've revised my anchor pulling procedure as a result.
 
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