Electric anchor winch

[Pelican]

information required on what make and model to fit to a Dufour 35? There is presently a manual winch fitted. Grateful for any advice offered. Thank you
Pelican

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[AndrewB]

A recent thread ...

... may be useful, <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw.com/cgi-bin/forums/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=pbo&Number=425715>HERE</A>. There are about half-a-dozen ranges currently available in the UK that would have one or more suitable models, cost maybe £1,000 - £1,500 without fitting. It depends on what sort of use you expect. A visit to LIBS would help.

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[Talbot]

The decisions you need to make are:

Windlass Vertical or horizontal (this really means windlass motor below or above deck)

Chain Gypsy only, or chain/rope gypsy (chews up the rope), or gypsy and drum

Size of Gypsy - relates to Chain size, but needs to be calibrated chain. Dont be fooled by the salesman, if you buy a lofrans windlass make sure the chain is calibrated for lofrans.

Power of Windlass - depends on size of anchor and chain, plus power available (e.g. I am fitting a 1000w Lofrans Airon)

Having made these decisions you are ready to decide on manufacturer/style - chose from:

Quick - cheaper end of market but seem OK
Simpson Lawrence/Lewmar - heard a lot of complaints about their susceptability to water
Lofrans - High reputation but you should still get a windlasss for abt £600.

There are others but I have no knowledge of them.

Once you have made these decisions, there are a few more to make:

How to control: e.g. foot switches at bow, hand held control, remote control at helm. I have gone for the foot switches and the remote unit.

How to power. i.e. use same batteries or add a new dedicated battery. see http://www.yandina.com/bank3.htm. My personal view is that a dedicated battery is better and safer. you are dealing with very high currents and the shorter the lead from battery the better. besides the cost of the battery is going to be a lot less than the very heavy cable required unless you have quite a small boat. I have a dedicated 110Ah battery which feeds both bow thruster and windlass.

All the above is IMHO of course!!!


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