All of our chain-wheels accept spliced rope/chain rodes.

All Nautilus vertical windlasses have a standard manual free-fall feature.  All Nautilus horizontal windlasses have a standard auto free-fall feature.

By manually loosening the clutch nut a half turn or so, the anchor will free-fall.  To slow or stop the descent, gradually tighten the clutch nut.

For the Nautilus V500 and H500, you will have to manually retrieve the anchor by hand.  The larger Nautilus V1000 and H1000 incorporate a rachet design manual retrieval system that allows you to turn, with the aid of the supplied winch handle, the drum or chain-wheel cover to retrieve the anchor.

Each model has optioned gypsy for different chain size.

Yes.  You would need a longer vertical shaft, capstan and clutch nut which can be ordered thru Nautilus.  See your dealer for installation instructions.

Yes, if you are using an all-chain rode, a chain stopper will take the strain off the windlass while at anchor.  If you use a chain-rope rode, we recommend tying the rope off to a cleat; this will prevent the rope from getting wedged in the jaws of the windlass while at anchor.