Boat Gear Direct Windlass

Always believe that sale blurb should be as good as the product....

"The 900 series have been developed using up-to-date technology and ideals, with efficient spur gears instead of traditional worm gears which can reduce of 30%~50% of motor power consumption. The stainless steel Gypsy takes both rope and chain. The tremendous lifting capacity and fast retrival speed are provided by a heavy duty DC motor and a heat radidting system allow it to prevent motoe overheating."

Donald
 
I bought chain and warp from them a few years ago, and was pleased with my purchase and the service I received.

They have been selling that brand of windlass (which came out well in a PBO or YM test a while back) for several years. I was considering one for a previous boat, and would have bought it from them had I proceeded.
 
tgpt21 said:
Has anyone any experience with products from this company and specifically this windlass?

http://boatgeardirect.co.uk/windlass/product/536-900m-windlass-12v

The price is good, it looks good it is compact and has good features (according to them). But will it last?

Any info appreciated.
Click to expand...

In my view, worm gears are the right way to go for windlasses. They are inherently "self locking", i.e. they cannot be turned backwards through the drivetrain. That said, worm gears are much ore common in "vertical" windlasses, and most horizontal windlasses use spur gears anyway....so in this case it's nothing "special" compared to anything else. I'd be asking what mechanism they use for locking up the geartrain, if it's a one-way bearing, roller clutch etc. as that is the weak point
 
I bought one. I would not again I'm afraid. I fitted one on my Prout and after a year the "potted" switch and relay had rotted out. I bought replacements and moved the electrical parts from the anchor locker to inside the cabin with just the wire coming through for the switch unit to the locker. In a year the relay went again. I bought a different part from a different supplier and made it work. It did so then for 2 years until I sold the boat. Before selling I checked everything worked and it did. Within a week the new owner reported that the windlass did not work (still in the marina, just testing) and had to remove the main body to be repaired after which as I understand it it worked for half a season then failed again leaving him hauling by hand across the Med.

I can't say why it failed after I sold it but it wasn't through use as the boat hadn't moved. I can't say if the repair was badly done which is why it then failed again as I didn't see what was done but all in all I wouldn't buy one again. Plus remember that this windlass does not have a manual back up - so if the electrics fail you cannot use it at all and that's something I would never do again.
 
I agree what does it take to read over a paragraph. I thought it was just me being pedantic........again. I'll have a long think about it. I've managed to clean up the motor on the old Quick windlass......again. So I am hoping for another season out of it.

The motor gets a hard time because it is in the chain locker and the fact that the motor would be waay from there attracted me to it.

Thanks to the others who gave of their time to reply!
 
Until quite recently BGD were UK distributors for the reputable Australian made South Pacific windlass range, the products offered now look very similar but all reference to that brand seems to have disappeared. The specifications are much more vague than those defined on South Pacific's website, not just for the windlasses but for the ancillaries. ( I was looking for a solenoid for our South Pacific windlass). Googling suggests that South Pacific may no longer be offered in the UK.
It might be possible that some one in China or somewhere has decided to clone the Australian range and offer them to the distributor at a more profitable price?
 
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