Hey folks, my new to me, 2001 310...

[Genny]

Hey folks, my new to me, 2001 310 DA, has an anchor windlass. (my first)

  What is the purpose of the "thumb" that sits outside the rode?

[wingless]

An image showing the part would be very helpful.

Big guess, there is a spring loaded finger lever pushing the rode into the capstan so that the rotation will push / pull the rode.

[Genny]

Is it supposed to put pressure on the rode , is it supposed to move? When I manually apply pressure it seems to work but it stays stuck, away from the rode. ??
What's the fix?

[wingless]

The spring loaded finger is supposed to push the rode continuously into the capstan.

It should be possible to manually pull it away, such as for repositioning the rode, then it returns on it's own to against the rode / capstan.

If that isn't acting properly, then either corrosion / lack of lubrication is preventing normal operation, or the internal spring is broken, or both.

[Genny]

Ok....thought so. Thanks.