Once our 30-something-year-old son remarked after breaking loose and raising our 35-pound Delta: “Boy, that was set well, I really had to grunt to get it up.” But such comments sailed over my head until last fall.
We had never owned a boat with a windlass and had always raised our anchor by hand (or rather, by back) on previous boats. An anchor windlass was something we had mentioned in passing several times, but it wasn’t even considered when we upgraded her. Thus it was with our Bluebonnet, a 20-year-old Valiant 32. It’s strange how much difficulty we owners of older boats have in finding $500 to $1,000 to replace an old kitchen appliance or to provide new furniture for the den … and how little difficulty we have spending it on new stuff for the boat … especially when priorities change. When your good old back’s not up to it anymore, let a windlass do the donkey work
