I have a 33 foot boat with a 35 lb CQR and 300 feet of chain. I have no
problems with my manual windlass. I was also the captain of a 102 foot
ketch with a 180 lb danforth and 600 feet of chain and we had a manual
windlass (with lots of crew). It worked fine also.

Gary

Ruskie wrote:
I'm trading up to a 42' cruising sailboat, and I have narrowed the
search down to a used Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, or Valiant.

Numerous salespeople have lectured that, despite being big and strong,
I won't be able to, or want to, use a manual windlass with this size
of boat.

Acutally, I do want to use a manual windlass, if possible.

Any opinions?