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#1
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Vertical Windlass choices solicited
Some of you may be aware that we had to saw out the old one in the
course of trying to service our antique Lewmar 1000 vertical drum/gypsy windlass (follow the link in the sig - and follow the comments on the first page - to see what's up with the refit). So, we are in the market for a (similar) replacement. We've had the opportunity to review the survey of Seven Seas Cruising Association members on the subject. After replacement of the rotted substrate and repair of the surface, we expect installation to be pretty straightforward. Our boat is 45' LOD with fairly substantial overhangs fore and aft; it's got a design weight of 33000# and an anticipated real weight closer to 40k, after final loading and provisioning. We currently have a 20kg Bruce, a Chinese knockoff of same design and weight, forward, both all chain, and a 34# Fortress with mostly rope rode. We'd sort of like to move up one grade in anchors, but it's not a critical event at this juncture in our refit. Unfortunately for us, our boat appears to be right in the middle of the high or low end of most of the various different classes of vertical windlasses available, at least based on boat length. Having had a replacement motor in my hand at the local WM Bargain Center, I agree with the assessment of the Lewmar Sprint series, which is that they're not worth having. We also know that prices vary all over the map; what is quoted on one site may be double that of another. So, "street price" is what matters in the end. So, given a gypsy/drum arrangement on a vertical windlass with a chain pipe (automatically feeds the chain below), and a street price of under or very close to $2k, who's replaced theirs recently with something like that, and what's been the experience? Thanks. L8R Skip, rehabbing (well, waiting to rehab) and champing at the bit to get back to refitting Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig http://tinyurl.com/384p2 - the vessel as Tehemana, as we bought her "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain |
#2
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Subject
After Light House in Colton, Ca, everything else is down hill. The 1500 would do an excellent job. Lew |
#3
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Skip Gundlach wrote:
Unfortunately for us, our boat appears to be right in the middle of the high or low end of most of the various different classes of vertical windlasses available, at least based on boat length. Having had a replacement motor in my hand at the local WM Bargain Center, I agree with the assessment of the Lewmar Sprint series, which is that they're not worth having. I've heard at least a dozen stories of grief from Lewmar windlass owners... a bad rap, possibly, but then I know of at least a dozen owenrs of Ideal windlasses who use them hard and never think about any trouble with them. We also know that prices vary all over the map; what is quoted on one site may be double that of another. So, "street price" is what matters in the end. So, given a gypsy/drum arrangement on a vertical windlass with a chain pipe (automatically feeds the chain below), and a street price of under or very close to $2k, who's replaced theirs recently with something like that, and what's been the experience? http://www.idealwindlass.com/choosing_a_windlass.htm You won't get a new one sized for your boat (I'd be thinking about 1200 or 1500 watt) for under $2K that's for sure. Considering price, last fall we bought a 1000W 'Quick' windlass, made in Italy, and installed it. Only used it about a dozen times, and under benign circumstances, but at this point I have no apprehension about it's service. Ordering something like this is a risk that the gear won't work as well as you want, but OTOH an Ideal windlass/capstan is going to cost you $2500. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Muir-... 7452639QQrdZ1 Fresh Breezes- Doug King |
#4
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Lewmars are the old Simpson-Lawrence windlasses I believe. Installed a
new one on my old boat and it turned to junk just before the warranty expired. Close call. They are an elegant, attractive design in many respects but engineered too much like a swiss watch to withstand conditions on the foredeck of a boat. Mine developed a leaky seal around the main shaft which allowed sea water into the gearcase with inevitable results. To S-L's credit they replaced the whole thing with no quibbles but I wouldn't bet a nickle on the same thing not happening again. My present boat has a Galley Maid which is still going strong after 24 years of rough usage which is a strong recommendation, but if the time comes I will replace it with an Ideal. Maxwell looks good on paper but I know nothing about them. Ideal has a very strong reliability track record coupled with good service. |
#5
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Lew Hodgett wrote:
Subject After Light House in Colton, Ca, everything else is down hill. The 1500 would do an excellent job. Lew I like Lofrans and Muir. Lofrans because they have been around for a long time and seem to use quality parts, and Muir because I had one on the last boat and never gave any trouble in 8 years and many many anchorages. Evan Gatehouse |
#6
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DSK wrote:
Considering price, last fall we bought a 1000W 'Quick' windlass, made in Italy, and installed it. Only used it about a dozen times, and under benign circumstances, but at this point I have no apprehension about it's service. I've looked at the Quick brand due to the low prices especially on Ebay through their importer. Some of the models use a mixture of bronze/aluminum and stainless steel in the big castings. A bit of a battery & corrosion problem waiting to happen I think. Some of their models only use bronze & s.s. in the base castings/drum/wildcat and I think these are less likely to give trouble. Evan Gatehouse |
#7
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Evan Gatehouse wrote:
I've looked at the Quick brand due to the low prices especially on Ebay through their importer. Some of the models use a mixture of bronze/aluminum and stainless steel in the big castings. A bit of a battery & corrosion problem waiting to happen I think. Some of their models only use bronze & s.s. in the base castings/drum/wildcat and I think these are less likely to give trouble. We'll see how it goes. Ours seems quite well made, very little play in the gears & bearings, castings very solid. I think the drive motor end housing is cast aluminum, but the rest seems to be SS. It was so much cheaper than the Ideal that I'm sure there are corners cut in mfg'ing them, but if it lasts 1/4 as long then I'm still ahead of the game... as long as it doesn't crap out during a hurricane! DSK |
#8
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Skip Gundlach wrote:
Some of you may be aware that we had to saw out the old one in the course of trying to service our antique Lewmar 1000 vertical drum/gypsy windlass (follow the link in the sig - and follow the comments on the first page - to see what's up with the refit). So, we are in the market for a (similar) replacement. We've had the opportunity to review the survey of Seven Seas Cruising Association members on the subject. After replacement of the rotted substrate and repair of the surface, we expect installation to be pretty straightforward. Our boat is 45' LOD with fairly substantial overhangs fore and aft; it's got a design weight of 33000# and an anticipated real weight closer to 40k, after final loading and provisioning. We currently have a 20kg Bruce, a Chinese knockoff of same design and weight, forward, both all chain, and a 34# Fortress with mostly rope rode. We'd sort of like to move up one grade in anchors, but it's not a critical event at this juncture in our refit. Unfortunately for us, our boat appears to be right in the middle of the high or low end of most of the various different classes of vertical windlasses available, at least based on boat length. Having had a replacement motor in my hand at the local WM Bargain Center, I agree with the assessment of the Lewmar Sprint series, which is that they're not worth having. We also know that prices vary all over the map; what is quoted on one site may be double that of another. So, "street price" is what matters in the end. So, given a gypsy/drum arrangement on a vertical windlass with a chain pipe (automatically feeds the chain below), and a street price of under or very close to $2k, who's replaced theirs recently with something like that, and what's been the experience? Thanks. L8R Skip, rehabbing (well, waiting to rehab) and champing at the bit to get back to refitting Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig http://tinyurl.com/384p2 - the vessel as Tehemana, as we bought her "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain Practical Sailor mag just did a writeup and test on the smaller windlasses. The October issue will have tests on the mid-range windlasses. Paul SV Jeorgia |
#9
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Paul L wrote in
: Practical Sailor mag just did a writeup and test on the smaller windlasses. The October issue will have tests on the mid-range windlasses. Paul SV Jeorgia Does it say "This windlass sucks! Don't buy this awful product!", or does it say what boat magazines always say that every advertiser's, or potential advertiser's products are just wonderful and you can't live without them? -- Larry |
#10
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Larry wrote:
Paul L wrote in : Practical Sailor mag just did a writeup and test on the smaller windlasses. The October issue will have tests on the mid-range windlasses. Paul SV Jeorgia Does it say "This windlass sucks! Don't buy this awful product!", or does it say what boat magazines always say that every advertiser's, or potential advertiser's products are just wonderful and you can't live without them? It mainly takes the manufactuers' claims, like max pull, speed, etc, and compares them to actual tests that they did. It helps to keep the manufactures honest. What the tests can't tell you is how long will the windlass last - probably the most important question. Paul |
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