wrote:
Have you looked at Ideal windlasses?

http://www.idealwindlass.com/

If I were outfitting for a world cruise they would be one of my top
choices. They've been in busines for a long time and have a near
legendary reputation for reliability and service.

Yes, in the course of my initial research (long-timers here know of my
compulsion to know what I'm about before I set out to spend any
significant boat bux), we looked at them. I no longer recall the
reason we discarded them - whether configuration (we want vertical
windlass gypsy and capstan) or cost, we elected to choose from several
others.

The choice range we settled on was based on results of the Seven Seas
Cruising Association survey of windlass users. Several, if not all, of
those we chose to choose from were also just reviewed by Practical
Sailor. None of them were panned, as PS will do if they think
something isn't up to snuff.

In the end, the one we chose was rated a clear winner - the Consumer
reports version of a Best Buy - being moderately priced, well
warrantied and accessoried, and pulling like a 20-mule team. Only one
costing nearly double was rated faster; it didn't have any more pulling
power nor better warrantee, etc.

Solid stainless topsides warmed our hearts, but in the end, the
confluence of experience and cold-hearted ratings led us to this
choice.

Our challenge at the moment is to find a vendor who actually knows
what's included in the basic package from Lewmar and to determine what
we want to buy in addition to that. There are several vendors who
quote similar prices (as noted in my original). At this point, I'll
give the deal to the one who's most responsive; currently that seems to
be BoatBandit, from whom I bought my cockpit fixed and handheld VHF
gear and likely will also get my HF and VHF navstation gear.

We're going to the boat, currently secured against the fringe of Wilma,
on Nov 10 on the way over to the SSCA meeting in Melbourne. We'll take
most of what's in the storage building there and install it (stow,
really), the better to just provision and do last minute projects when
we head to the boat for good.

Current target for that is January in Lydia's mind, but that will be
entirely dependent on my shoulder rehab, the info on which should be a
great deal clearer this week, as my final post-op with the surgeon will
be right on the heels of a PT visit where we're monitoring the success
of training the relocated muscles to do something different than they'd
done for the last 60 years. If I can get my arm over my head, or
there's no progress (failure of the objective of the operation), by
then, we're outta here. If I'm continuing to make progress, but can't
yet do it, we'll have to wait until I can. THEN, we're outta here :{))

In the meantime, I'm marrying off the two remaining children (New
Year's Eve and Valentine's Day), hoping to be in the position to be in
seatrials to go to one of Lydia's kids' best buddies' wedding in Long
Boat Key (a daysail away from our haul-out) the first week in February,
and soon after, once the weather window is there, hightail it to the
Bahamas, never to be seen again :{))

Thanks for the assistance in the windlass search...

L8R

Skip and Lydia


"There is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply
messing about in boats.
In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter,
that's
the charm of it.
Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never
get
anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to
do, and
you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."