I have an Ace Brutus as well. It comes down to how often you use it and how hard you use it. I pull 600' of shrimp pot line up to about 4 times a day with two pots on each line. I also have two Scotty down riggers on my stern and the Brutus fits right onto the swivel base and adjusts to my "best" angle to pull (according to wind and current).
I have hung up pots on the bottom before, but the Brutus (even mounted on the plastic swivel base) is very adequately strong. If I pulled a LOT more pots I would invest it a more powerful and faster puller, but for personal use it is very satisfactory. It also breaks down quite small and stores very well. They are very popular up here and are the least expensive option for a decent quality puller. Scotty also makes a puller, looks like a capstan, which I have seen used out of skiffs. It sits too close to the rail for the pots to clear the hull coming in IMO.
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