Remote switch for anchor

[Wayne]

Hi,

I have a Bavaria 37 and according to the yacht inventory have a remote switch for the anchor, to raise and lower the anchor. At the centre console in the cockpit there are two rubber switches near the Volvo motor start button etc. Pushing the buttons doesn't seem to raise or lower the anchor (have switched the anchor switch on at the nav station). Does anyone have a remote switch and, if so, are the buttons I am pushing the correct remote ones? Thanks.

Wayne

[IslandAlchemy]

They don't by any chance mean a Quick handheld remote, mounted in the anchor locker do they?

[Symphony]

They probably are the the anchor switches. If they are not labeled you need to trace the wires to see where they go. You should have controls at the anchor locker as well, either foot switches or a hand control on a lead.

[Wayne]

Thanks. I have the hand held at the anchor and it works fine. Next time I'm on the yacht will trace the wires.

Wayne

[Salty]

Could it be that the remote switch they are referring to is the one on the distribution circuit board which has to be switched on to allow the anchor to be raised or lowered electrically via the hand held control you have forward.
Also I suspect that the rubber switches near the Volvo motor start button, if they are located within the Volvo control panel plate are solely and only to do with the engine operation, and are nothing to do with the windlass control. However if those switches are separate from the Volvo control panel then they would be worth investigating.
As a starting off point I would look at the solenoid control box. On my Bav 36 it is located behind the main distribution board. On my boat the solenoid is coloured black, it is about four inches in length and height by about one and a half inches in depth, and has a set of heavy cables going into and out of the unit. Those heavy cables (similar in size to your starter motor cables) carry the heavy current needed to drive the windlass. There are also, if I remember correctly three smaller terminals, each fitted with a much lighter single cable and it is these lighter cables which control the direction in which the windlass runs. I would suggest that if there are two sets of light cables to each of these smaller terminals, then it is likely that you have two separate control positions for running the windlass, i.e. one forward and one at the helm, but if you have only a single cable to each of those terminals it would be unlikely that you have anything other than the forward control for the windlass.

[Wayne]

Thanks Salty. Will check next time I am on the boat.
Wayne