Chet,
I gave much thought to the windlass (due to an aging back and many silt-clay bottoms) and ended up installing a Maxwell vertical 1500 with chain wheel and capstan. (I use 5/16 HT chain and 5/8 3-strand line.) To have a fair pull through the bow roller, I installed the head on a cone of bubinga (a dense African wood) about 4-3/4 inches high, with a hollow center for the shaft and gearbox. Having the motor below deck requires the extended shaft model. I reinforced the deck with a 1" bubinga plate and the steel plate supplied with the windlass. The windlass is located forward of the anchor locker, and the motor hangs into the forepeak. One drawback is the line must be tailed and the chain fed back into the locker. This works fine once you become used to the procedure. You might also check out one of the newer rope-chain wheels, but at the time I installed mine I was not satisfied with any of the combination wheels on the market, especially their splitting mechanisms. One could go all chain, but I would prefer not to add the weight forward. Also, a direct feeding unit would probably work best storing the rode in the forpeak to have a better vetical drop - but I would rather keep the wetness and mud out of there.
Hope that helps,
Mike
