Hardware

Anchors for mud, sand and rock:

the bottom decides which one holds. A Danforth-type fluke anchor, or an aluminium Fortress, digs deep into mangrove mud and sand but can skate over weed or rock and break out when the wind swings the boat round. A plough or claw such as a Delta or a Bruce resets more readily when the pull changes direction, and the roll-bar scoop anchors from Rocna and Mantus set fast in most bottoms and suit cruisers who anchor in a different Las Perlas bay each night. Open fishing skiffs working rocky points carry a folding grapnel that can be worked free when it snags.

Chain, rope and the windlass gypsy:

small boats run a short length of chain and then nylon rope, which keeps the pull low along the bottom and the weight off the bow. Bigger boats go all-chain on a windlass, and there the chain has to match the gypsy, the toothed wheel that grips it. The same nominal size comes in different link pitches, G4 high-test, BBB and metric ISO, and the wrong one jumps the wheel or jams. Check the stamping on the gypsy, or the manual for the Lewmar, Maxwell or Quick windlass, before buying either half.

Cleats, fairleads and what holds them down:

a cleat is as strong as its metal and its backing. 316 stainless and bronze stand up to salt water; 304 pits and stains sooner, and the chrome-plated zinc on many budget powerboats blisters, then cracks. Through-bolted with a backing plate, it spreads the load into the deck. A canal transit is the hardest test most fittings here face: the bow and stern cleats hold the boat while a lock fills, and a weak one shows itself right there. The long lock lines and tyre fenders for that day are mostly hired, not bought. Sealant for bedding a fitting sits under boat maintenance, and throttle and shift controls belong with boat engines.

Anchor prices, from a fishing skiff to a cruising sailboat:

a galvanised fluke anchor for a skiff or small runabout runs from about $15 for a light one to around $150 new, while an aluminium Fortress or a scoop anchor for a cruising sailboat starts around $400 and climbs fast with size. With no moving parts to wear out, a used anchor with a straight shank and its galvanising intact keeps far more of its price than most second-hand boat gear. Once rust is coming through or a fluke is bent, it is scrap.

Pitting in stainless and rust on the anchor chain:

run a finger round the base of any stainless fitting. Brown tea staining is cosmetic; pitting, hairline cracks at the bolt holes or rust weeping from a weld mean the metal is failing, which is common on stanchion bases and bow rails. Take a small magnet: a firm pull means it is not marine stainless at all, though no pull does not prove 316. On chain, check the stretch behind the anchor, which drags on the bottom and loses its galvanising first. Lewmar and Bomar hatches fail at the acrylic lens, which hazes and crazes in the sun, and at the seal.

A windlass, cleat or hatch with its bolt pattern measured:

sells on the details, since most used hardware comes off boats being upgraded or stripped. State the material honestly, 316, bronze, chrome-plated or unknown, and give the measurements a buyer needs to fit it: bolt spacing on a cleat or windlass, the cutout of a hatch rather than its frame, chain size and length, anchor weight. Photograph the underside, where corrosion hides, and any maker’s stamping. Someone driving from Portobelo to collect a windlass will want the gypsy stamping and chain size in the listing, because if they do not match the chain on their own boat, the trip ends with a part that does not fit.