What Is A Capstan On A Ship?

Capstan is used for mooring and anchoring on the deck or on the shore. Generally, the drum of the capstan does not store the rope, one is because the drum is small and can’t store much; the other is because it is a vertical type, and the moment it bears is small.

Anchor capstan is used for anchoring. It is structured as a vertical roller on the top, and a motor (or hydraulic motor) mounted vertically on the bottom, and the motor is coupled with the roller.

Anchor capstan can be installed on or through the deck and used for anchoring operations. It has the same function as the anchor windlass, but with different appearance. The capstan has only one drum or chain wheel to rotate during operation to wind the anchor chain, but cannot hold and store the wire on the drum. One importance benefit of using anchor capstan on ships is that the line traction can come from any direction, but the anchor chain should approach the chain wheel at an angle. The pulling force of the capstan depends on the diameter of the anchor chain, and the diameter of the chain wheel should match the diameter of the chain to ensure that no chain jumps off the wheel during the anchoring operation.

Mooring capstan is designed for mooring. The power source can be electric or hydraulic. Compared with mooring winch, the mooring capstan is vertical, compact and easy to use.

Anchor capstan is composed of motor, reducer, base, sprocket, capstan body, jaw clutch, brake, push rod, etc.

The whole machine is is firmly connected to the deck through six bolts on the base. The electric motor is inserted into the input end of the reducer and is connected to the reducer as a whole. The sprocket shaft is directly sleeved on the output shaft of the reducer, and the torque is transmitted through the key. The sprocket and the capstan body are provided with inlays used as clutches, and the clutch handle is used to control the lifting and lowering of the capstan body, so that the capstan winch body and the sprocket are combined or disconnected.

When the capstan winch body is fitted with the sprocket teeth, the anchoring operation can be carried out, and when the two are disconnected, the cable winching operation can be carried out.

In the absence of electricity, the capstan cover can be opened and the clutch nut can be turned to disengage the body of the capstan from the main shaft for manual anchoring and cable winching.

The brake device is an ordinary band brake, which is composed of brake band, trapezoidal screw, nut, pin and other parts. When working, the handwheel is turned and transmitted to the brake band through the trapezoidal screw to achieve braking.

Windlass is used to retract anchors and chains on ships, usually installed on the first deck of the ship. The anchor windlass is mainly composed of base, support, anchor sprocket, brake, gearbox, electric control system, etc. The electric windlass has an electric motor, and the hydraulic windlass has a hydraulic pump station.

Capstan is a kind of small winch used on ships for anchoring and mooring. It has the characteristics of small size, light weight, high efficiency, simple structure, easy operation, convenient maintenance, etc.