Hi everyone.

I'm in the process of purchasing a 32' Albemarle Express. It is loaded with
lots of goodies, but it seems that the previous owner never installed a
windlass. I'd like to add one soon. I've been looking in the usual
catalogs and on Ebay. I've found lots of them, but to be perfectly honest,
I've never used one. I have lots of experience on lots of boats, boats, but
for whatever reason, none of them have ever had a windlass, so I am a bit
unfamiliar with them. I have noticed several things in my reading. There
seem to be at least 2 basic designs...vertical and horizontal. I have seen
low profile and ones with a capstan. I have also seen a large difference in
the pulling power of them and an even greater range in price.

I'm kind of curious about the differences. Any advantage of vertical over
horizontal? On the models that say they have a capstan, they look like they
have whatever the piece is called that grips the rode and winds it up and
then a large spool on top of that. I assume that part is the capstan.
Since it appears that the rode is normally wound under that capstan, what is
the capstan for? How much pulling power should I look for? The boats
displacement is 17,000 lbs. Lastly, are there any brands that I should stay
away from or any that I should seek out?

Thanks for all replies!

Gary