Boat show buy, electric windlasses

[Peter]

Looking for some opinions on what electric windlasses to buy with respect to pro’s and cons of different manufactures, currently looking at Lofrans or Lewmar windlass and between the different types, vertical or horizontal, reliability between different manufactures etc, or any other useful bit of information you can give me. Boat size 42ft, with 10mm chain, max 50m and a 30kg anchor

Thanks


Peter

 

[claymore]

Bought a Lofrans winch 2 years ago from the LBS
Also bought my calibrated chain from Jimmy Green Marine which was delivered up to the boat. Also bought a bigger battery to cope with the 1000 amp - think the battery is 175 ah - got that from Adverc stand
All working faultlessly. Decided I didn't need a down button, think that was correct decision and just have an up button - when locating that on foredeck think about being able to lean on pulpit rails and look over the bow whilst you have a foot on the button.

 

[Shanty]

Went through this last year. Finally decided on Lofrans, and I'm very pleased with the result.

One of the factors that finally decided me was a discussion with the workshop manager at our local boatyard. They supply & fit a range of different makes, including Lofrans and Lewmar. The one that they've had the least trouble with, and their recommendation, was Lofrans.

 

[Talbot]

I did this last year, and ended up with the Lofrans airon 10mm gypsy and a drum. I also bought 30m lofrans calibrated chain all from Mailspeed and got a good price plus free delivery (glad I didnt have to pay for the chain delivery!) Also bought 45m of 14mm white octoplait from Jimmy Green and found it easy to follow jimmy Green's instructions for the rope/chain splice.

 

[Birdseye]

Bought a lofrans vertical axis with a chain / rope gipsy(?) and a drum for rope. Worked well except that the arm which is supposed to hold rope into the combined gypsy was aluminium and was attacked by the chain. I removed it since I used chain only.

As has been said, put the switches (and I would definitely have both up and down) on the foredeck where you can lean over and see the anchor coming up. But where your toes are clear. Wouldnt bother with the extra switch at the helm - we never used it once because you couldnt see what was happening.

Got calibrated chain via a lifting tackle specialist from yellow pages. being industrial rather than yottie, the price was half what the swindleries charged. Wired it up using welding cable also from an industrial supplier and this worked well and saved money too.

My deck was balsa sandwich so I took care to remove the balsa and re-fill with epoxy where the bolts went through. The chain ran through a large skin fitting to avoid damaging the deck.

Pay a lot of attention to re-inforcement of where the windlass goes. There can be very heavy snatch type loads.

 

[penultimate]

I ordered and paid for a Lofrans windlass at last year's LBS and spent some days installing the cable run onboard. After a delay of some weeks I was advised that Lofrans had changed their motor suppliers and could no longer supply me with a 24v windlass.
Naturally I received a full refund, but I can't afford the Lewmar alternative, at 50% more. The cable is still in place, so if anyone can advise me of a suitable 24v windlass for a 30' boat - at a sensible price - I should be very grateful.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Why not run it off half volts? Do you really have a 24v battery or is it split/

 

[penultimate]

Yes, I could use half battery bank but don't like to do so. I used to derive 12V this way for instruments, and could switch between battery halves; but found it difficult to keep the two halves balanced and this led to over-charging and premature battery failure. I now use a 24v/12v dropper for low current applications and have had no more premature battery failures.

 

[Anonymous]

Have you asked Lofrans, and others, if they will give you the name of their motor manufacturer and enquired whether they will wind a 24V version for you? It shouldn't be a bid deal for them to do this. Alternatively, given the motor details you might be able to get a local motor rewinder to supply you with one. My father used to have trouble sourcing 24V motors for his SL windlass (1971 product) and the motors used to burn out very easily. In the end he asked an Italian rewinder to rebuild him one and never had any more trouble, so presumably it was superior to the factory product in any case.

 

[theseafisher]

Re: Boat show buy, electric windlasses (theseafisher)

Hi everyone. Happy New Year.

In process of purchasing CI22. Will need to install windlas, what size would I require?

Expect will have to purchase new chain to fit. Any ideas?

 

[Koeketiene]

Vetus - Alexander MkIII

 

[Talulah]

Ironically - I was on the boat over the weekend and the Windlass motor dropped off! The motor plus the mounting bracket is held together with 2 long bolts that go all the way through the motor and then through the bracket. This bracket is then clamped to the underside of the windlass. I was able to make up 2 new bolts with stainless steel studding but it was disappointing to see that the existing bolts had corroded through. I would not have expected this type of problem on a product specifically for the marine environment.
When choosing a windlass you need to be careful when deciding wether or not to go for a vertical or horizantal windlass. A vertical windlass is much easier to align. You only have to worry about positioning it left or right. With a horizantal windlass (they look much smaller and neater) the problem is getting the windlass tilted slightly forward or aft so that the chain comes off in line with the pulley and the anchor roller.

 

[smb]

Fitted a Lofrans kobra 1000w last spring. 45lb cqr and 60m of 10mm chain. Quite satisfied though it does involve a large hole in the foredeck.

Only niggle was/is the gypsy locking lever not engaging squarely with the notch in the gypsy hence it does not work as designed. It would only take 5 minutes to remedy with a file but as I invariably use a seperate snubber it has not been a priority.

There was a longish lead time last year, about two months if memory serves.

Steve