Windless shopping

I am in Key West and preparing for the storm ,in moving my boat I broke my windless. When I bought this particular unit I cheaped out so really no surprise. So..... I'm looking for recommendations on a vertical windless 44' boat 40,000lbs. 105lb mantus anchor 5/16" HT chain all chain I want this to be the last winless I purchased for this boat. I do not have the room for an aft for a decent horizontal winless

I’m a fan of the lofrans windlasses I currently have a Tigris on one of my boats, after the stellar service I have had I would stay with them if I had to go with a vertical model. Your boat should need something like a SX3 or X3

Ideal

Lighthouse has an incredible reputation. A bit pricy.

mvweebles said:

Lighthouse has an incredible reputation. A bit pricy.

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That lighthouse is a beautiful unit, but it also cost over $6,000. That's twice the budget I had planned for

The most cost effective of the good windlass brands is likely to be Maxwell. As others have mentioned, Lofrans, Ideal and a few others also make very well respected units.

mbevins said:

Ideal

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Another Ideal vote here. 10 years ago during my repower, I removed the then 40 year old OEM Ideal windlass (a PITA job) and shipped it to the factory to have it torn down and refurbished. They cleaned it up and sent it back to me saying no major pieces needed replacement and the internals looked fine. Ideals are built right and last.

You bought a cheap windless, it broke. So now, you are looking another cheap windless. I would have thought you would have learned something the first time.
Consider the price of your boat and then spend the bucks on a good windless plus, mount it properly to your deck and sizable backing plates.

Ideal Windless are the way to go! we have had one in Maine for over 30 years, and they just work!!

[STRIKE][/STRIKE]

OldDan1943 said:

You bought a cheap windless, it broke. So now, you are looking another cheap windless. I would have thought you would have learned something the first time.
Consider the price of your boat and then spend the bucks on a good windless plus, mount it properly to your deck and sizable backing plates.

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I'm not looking for another cheap Windless because I have learned my lesson. The truth be told I already knew better but I was a bit strapped at the time. So I just ordered a Maxwell winless that was $3,000. It is overrated for my boat but I think it will be a good unit for me. The lighthouse unit is a beautiful piece but it is $6,000. How many 45-ft boats on this site have $6,000 winless?

Not to hijack but

I am also looking for either repair parts for a Maxwell HRC10-10 or advice on a replacement windlass.

Requirements are horizontal, 12volt, and capable of combination chain and rope rode.

I have beat the existing unit up to the point it doesn't like handling the chain, 3/8'' BBB, pops and jumps severely when hauling even in shallow water 50'-75'.
Due to depths of some of our anchorages an all chain rode is not an option.
Present system is 45# CQR with 100' 3/8 and then 5/8" three strand so 200# of anchor and chain if we should be bottom fishing while anchored.
Have toyed with the idea of downsizing the chain to 5/16 but sure if that would help.

Asterix said:

I am also looking for either repair parts for a Maxwell HRC10-10 or advice on a replacement windlass.

Requirements are horizontal, 12volt, and capable of combination chain and rope rode.

I have beat the existing unit up to the point it doesn't like handling the chain, 3/8'' BBB, pops and jumps severely when hauling even in shallow water 50'-75'.
Due to depths of some of our anchorages an all chain rode is not an option.
Present system is 45# CQR with 100' 3/8 and then 5/8" three strand so 200# of anchor and chain if we should be bottom fishing while anchored.
Have toyed with the idea of downsizing the chain to 5/16 but sure if that would help.

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So sounds like you need a new chain wheel but are you sure it's not dodgy chain?
Stretched chain will twist and skip out of the chain wheel

motion30 said:

I am in Key West and preparing for the storm ,in moving my boat I broke my windless. When I bought this particular unit I cheaped out so really no surprise. So..... I'm looking for recommendations on a vertical windless 44' boat 40,000lbs. 105lb mantus anchor 5/16" HT chain all chain I want this to be the last winless I purchased for this boat. I do not have the room for an aft for a decent horizontal winless

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"windlass"

Asterix said:

I am also looking for either repair parts for a Maxwell HRC10-10 or advice on a replacement windlass.

Requirements are horizontal, 12volt, and capable of combination chain and rope rode.

I have beat the existing unit up to the point it doesn't like handling the chain, 3/8'' BBB, pops and jumps severely when hauling even in shallow water 50'-75'.
Due to depths of some of our anchorages an all chain rode is not an option.
Present system is 45# CQR with 100' 3/8 and then 5/8" three strand so 200# of anchor and chain if we should be bottom fishing while anchored.
Have toyed with the idea of downsizing the chain to 5/16 but sure if that would help.

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I agree with Simi 60, a new chain wheel or replacement of your chain is probably in order, most likely just a chain wheel. I use 5/16"chain (50') on a vertical LoFrans, matched with 5/8" nylon (600') and I believe the strength of the chain and line to be well matched with the holding power of my 15K Rocna.

You can buy a new chain wheel for the HRC10. They come in both 5/16 and 3/8 inch sizes.

As far as sizing the chain and line, I size based on the loads the boat can put on the gear, not based on holding power. If the anchor is sized conservatively for a poor bottom, you'll likely have enough holding power in a good bottom to survive conditions far worse than your sizing criteria (and possibly worse than your line and chain will handle). As an example, Rocna recommends 3/8 g43 with my 73lb Vulcan. But I'm using 5/16, as I know this boat doesn't need more than that.

Just as a follow-up, finding a new windlass was not as easy as hoped. Buying a Maxwell unit was impossible. What I wind up with was call lewmar V4 , I also took this opportunity they upsize my chain from 5/16" to 3/8" this is the third The Windlass on my boat since I have owned it oh, so I had to fill in the holes in the deck and start fresh also added a 3/8. Aluminum plate top and bottom. Not including the new change and buying online from a discount house counting just about everything I believe I have around $4,200 in this installation. I used the old switches and remote control. This is a very powerful unit and I am happy with my purchase

tigress windless

I second the suggestion for Tigress windless. Just installed it a week before I left on a trip. Easy install. Went out boating. Really fast windless. 1500 watts.

I snagged something while anchoring in False Creek Vancouver. Lots of stuff to snag on. Just about buried the bow of my 15 ton trawler riding over the anchor to break it out. Blew the breaker somewhere in the process. I finally freed the anchor and the windless works fine.

Beautiful design, aluminium finish looks fine on my pulpit.

Ken E. said:

Another Ideal vote here. 10 years ago during my repower, I removed the then 40 year old OEM Ideal windlass (a PITA job) and shipped it to the factory to have it torn down and refurbished. They cleaned it up and sent it back to me saying no major pieces needed replacement and the internals looked fine. Ideals are built right and last.

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Years ago I bought an 82 foot schooner that had an original 1938 vertical Ideal windlass, it leaked oil on a sail bag that was storeded under it. I removed it and sent it back to Ideal and said go threw it replace everything it needs. In a timely manner they sent it back and said it didn't need much more than the seal.

I sailed the boat to 9 different countries and 16 years later when I sold it - it worked as good as when it was sent back to me. All I ever did was change the gear box oil every year. I loved that thing.

rslifkin said:

The most cost effective of the good windlass brands is likely to be Maxwell. As others have mentioned, Lofrans, Ideal and a few others also make very well respected units.

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My Maxwell HWC2500 could rip off an elephant's ***** (my edit)! And to minimize wiring voltage drop, I purchased the 24vdc machine. I would have purchased a 120VAC unit if they had made one.

My present anchor is an 80# Manson Supreme and there is nothing IMHO to make it Supreme at all. Would not immediately reset with a 180 wind shift while I was sitting at the helm without having to pull it first to clear the mud from it. I also have a FX55 Fortress resting peacefully in its original shipping box on my boat. But Wifey is adverse to anchoring ever since the Manson failed in a close harbor anchorage.

foggysail said:

My Maxwell HWC2500 could rip off an elephant's ***** (my edit)! And to minimize wiring voltage drop, I purchased the 24vdc machine. I would have purchased a 120VAC unit if they had made one.

My present anchor is an 80# Manson Supreme and there is nothing IMHO to make is Supreme at all. Would not immediately reset with a 180 wind shift while I was sitting at the helm without having to pull it first to clear the mud from it. I also have a FX55 Fortress resting peacefully in its original shipping box on my boat. But Wifey is adverse to anchoring ever since the Manson failed in a close harbor anchorage.

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When I was shopping. There was no Maxwell windless available. Nobody had one