How to Make a Hand Winch for a Boat Anchor in 2023

How to Make a Hand Winch for a Boat Anchor

Pull the rope loop through the anchor by wrapping the wire sticking through the anchor pocket around a pair of pliers. DIY anchor winches. An anchor winch for ship anchoring is a valuable piece of deck equipment. 

It would be great if it’s a Lofrans Royal LW 250 horizontal manual anchor. Almost all winches have a 2-speed manual or 2-speed electric drive. 

What you need: tools, spare kits, and service manuals 13/ 19 how to maintain your winch 20 positioning the wave spring feeder 24/ 25 the self-tailer 26/ 27 servicing notes 28/ 29 servicing two-speed winches 32/ 33 servicing three-speed winches. As well as the ratchet, they have a hook to hold the boat. 

Using a winch plus davit, you use no more than 9″ x 14″. The tape can be used on the boat deck for anchoring purposes since it is cost-effective.

The steel parts are shielded from corrosion during the hot-dip galvanizing process, which is inexpensive and easy. 

Due to the ease of fabrication and material availability, This method can be more appealing than stainless steel construction. You can replace the DC drill to power the winch with many different types and power levels. 

As a result of a 5:1 reduction of the drilling power to the winding reel generated by the vee pulleys, at a final winding radius of 150mm, the pulling power is approximately 225kg. 

The pulling power is often greater when most of the rope is out, but when most of the rope is still in). Considering the anchor and chain weigh about ten kilograms, it manages to do the job quite easily. 

Power available from trade-quality drills is comparable to that from commercial winches. It is possible to achieve massive torque with 24V on board. Smaller instruments (e.g., tinnies) would suit a handyman drill.

At a final winding radius of about 150mm, the drill reduces to 5:1 to produce 225Kg in pulling power at the final winding reel produced by the vee pulleys. The pulling strength is often greater with most of the rope out). 

Considering the anchor and chain weigh about 10kg, it can do this with relative ease. The power available with trade quality drills is comparable to the grunt of commercial winches. 

When 24V is connected, it’s possible to achieve massive torque. A smaller handyman drill can address smaller tinnies (e.g., batts, etc.). A dedicated sealed 12V worm gear drive (like the ones purchased) is also available.

Usually ordered from engineering suppliers, but they are generally expensive and require special ordering – and even then, you are still over $1,000 ahead of the total cost of a commercial unit. 

At low range, the drill runs at 400 rpm with no load, which equals 80 rpm at the winch with the belt reduced. Because belt drives are cheap, keep the drill away from wet areas, and can be changed if required, we chose to use them. 

The simplest approach to control the wires to the dash wired to a switch is to remove the trigger mechanism from the drill and turn the motor on. 

You may wire a 2 pole changeover momentary switch on the dash (similar to the ones used for trim tabs) to implement forward and reverse, as well as a parallel switch at the front of the boat, so I can control the winch while standing in the hatch if necessary.

In the reverse mode, you can drop the anchor and raise it, like the commercial units, but you can cause it to fall with a little extra trickery. Anybody who scoffs at using reworked consumer goods to accomplish this will have to think again. 

Many products (especially low volume or industrial stuff) often use these parts since the cost of doing so is much less than using dedicated components. Once everything is fitted under the deck, a tiny panel protects the pulleys from fingers. 

However, integrating this device into the restricted space underdeck in the anchor well required some time. The unit must be assembled piece by piece in the well, but this will vary depending on the boat.