🔍 Key Concepts

• Wildcat clutch function on a horizontal anchor windlass • Difference between power operation (using the motor) and gravity drop of the anchor • Role of the manual brake when lowering the anchor by gravity

💭 Think About

• On a typical horizontal electro-hydraulic or electro-mechanical windlass, when must the wildcat be physically connected to the drive system for power operation? • When you let the anchor go by gravity, do you want the wildcat coupled to the motor, or free to rotate under chain weight, and what must then control the speed? • Which answer choice describes the normal, safe practice for both powered hoisting and controlled free-fall (gravity) lowering?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which options correctly associate engaging the wildcat clutch with using power from the windlass motor. • Check which options correctly describe gravity lowering as being controlled primarily by the manual brake with the clutch disengaged. • Eliminate any choices that suggest powered operation with the clutch disengaged, or gravity lowering with the clutch engaged, and see what remains.