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Windlasses

R

raymond

Larry McClure
Getting ready to purchase a Windlass for my 384 and am considering the Horizontal Lewmar H2 or the Maxwell HRC10. Any feedback on these is appreciated.
 
Larry,
I am biased towards the Maxwell based friends experience with both brands. That said, there might be a mounting advantage of one brand vs. the other.
I can offer you one bit of advise as to mounting whatever you buy..
There must be perfect fairlead between your primary anchor roller and the wildcat on the winch( I am assuming an all chain rode). You do not want the chain rubbing on any part of your bow roller assembly( except the roller itself...). This will determine the mounting position of the windlass in the anchor well. I needed to use a teak block under mine to get it to the right height.

Lots of luck!
 
from what I have heard, Maxwell is the superior windlass and also has better customer service. I met a fellow who could not get decent responses from Lewmar--but that was just one case.

I have a Lofrans vertical windlass which works very well. Mounting is straight forward, but requires some work. I think they call them a Project 1500 now. Imtra, that sells Lofrans, are good folks to deal with.

Vertical is nice because the motor is below decks and moves the weight down a bit, plus less to wrap stuff around on deck.

Also, you want as powerful a windlass as you can mount and afford and it looks as if the Maxwell has a bigger motor.
 
I installed a Maxwell VR1200 10 years ago....don't think they make that model now but do have a 1500. I did not order the one with the hawsepipe since I wanted to use it on both of my anchors.

Have been very happy with it except for 1 thing...I hope you never have to manually crank it with provided handle because it is a %$#^. I had to when the motor failed and needed rebuilding. The handle fits in a slot close to the windlass base so you can only go about 1/3 turn, have to pull it out, reinsert it etc. What a PIA and a bad design.

We had an Ideal windlass on another boat...the manual crank worked liked a winch...handle went in the top and you could rotate it 360 degrees. I almost bought an Ideal but Prac Sailor rated maxwell so high and it was a bit cheaper than Ideal.....

I would at least look at Ideal windlasses before deciding.
 
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I have a muir. Chain leads fair. Cut out original base to this locker and sealed it from the rest of the boat. There was so much discussion about needing some one below to push over the Chain pile that I wanted to be able to do it from on deck. The bracket was custom built. The bulkhead was glassed in, and a new drain hole drilled.
 
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I was wondering if it were possible to glass in the aft 1/3 of the anchor door on the deck and mount the windlass there like I seen mentioned earlier BUT instead of cutting out the bottom of the current anchor compartment and making it bigger just drill a hole and run a hawse pipe through to the lower compartment. Then have the upper compartment for a second anchor with your chain and rode. I assume one disadvantage would be having to run below to knock over a chain pile.
 
One critical point is that the windlass should have a manual mode of operation as a backup. You'd think it would be a no-brainer that they would all have this, but not so.

One day you'll need to get the anchor up without electricity - a bad time to discover that the windlass has no manual mode - which happened to me. Some windlasses even allow you to use a standard winch-handle.

Some Lewmars only provide a manual mode as an expensive option (see "happened to me" above).

Another point is that you might think that you only need the "up" switch, but most people I know who only installed the "up" switch eventually added the "down" switch as well.

Another point is that an electric windlass can jam suddenly with a lot of force if the chain piles up in the chain-locker, and it can be very hard to unjam (see "manual backup mode" and "down-switch" above).

I prefer to have no "pipe" where the chain descends into the chain-locker, so I can reach down into the chain-locker with the windlass handle to "stir" the chain and spill a pile - saves having to go below, up to the V-berth, crawl across the spare sails and guitars and whatnot, to reach the chain.

Cheers!

Chris Langton

1978 382 "Stargazer"
Sausalito CA
 
Jlipcovich -

Do you already have a windlass? Think the best way to approach the modification of the anchor locker is to begin with choosing a windlass.

We restored a manual Simpson Lawrence Sea Tiger 555 that we plan to install on our M382 in a manner similar to what you are describing.

Simpson Lawrance Sea Tiger 555 Windlass

Simpson Lawrance Sea Tiger 555 Windlass


We have yet to begin the project.

SV Calypso, a Morgan 382, which I believe is currently owned by Philippe Boujon has a Simpson Lawrance manual windlass installed in a manner similar to your description. I have seen images of their modifications on their website, but unfortunately I am currently unable to find the site. Does anyone know if Philippe still owns Calypso? Have not see him around the user group recently.

I believe that placing the windlass directly over the locker below by extending the deck forward and eliminating the aft third of upper locker will eliminate the need for a chain pipe. With no chain pipe and plenty of vertical space below the windlass I believe it is possible to avoid the dreaded chain pile. We ran a similar system on our M34 with 110' of chain + 100' 3/4" rope. We never had an issue with the need to knock down a chain pile.

I believe that any modification that either opens the bottom of the existing deck accessible locker or places a large diameter hole for feeding rode into the lower locker must be accompanied by improvements in the drainage of the lower anchor locker space.
 
I haven't found one as of yet but a gentleman I know has a new Horizon 900gd new in the box that he bought 10 yrs ago for a fair price. Complete with everything including a custom made stainless backing plate. Not sure if that would be a good winch or not. Haven't researched them yet.
 
I have a Seatiger 555. Previous owner glassed in the locker and all I have is two hause pipes into the fore and aft lockers.
 
We used our trusty SeaTiger 555 for 8 years without a single issue on our M34. Now it is headed for the foredeck of our M382.

Jlipcovich... I see you're in Naples, FL. I spent winters from 2004 - 2013 in Everglades City, FL. If looking for a SeaTiger or other used windlass check Sailorman anytime you head over to Ft. Lauderdale. I've see some good looking used windlasses on their shelves through the years. Also the Dania Beach Marine Flea Market is a good venue for finding deals on used gear. Unfortunately it is an annual event held in the spring of each year.

I've installed and repaired a few electric and one hydraulic windlass on vessels for other owners. Most of these were on 50+ foot sailing vessels.

Based on my experience, I would opt for the simplicity of a manual windlass on vessels the size/displacement of the Morgan 38s.
 
I'm considering going the manual windlass for the simplicity. But I can get a new in the box electric one for $500 (asking).
The 555's seem to be going for about the same. So I'm debating it....lol
 
Either way manual or electric will require some degree of deck and anchor locker modifications. Plus four to six stout bolts, backing plate, some lock nuts, and a bit of tef gel.

If you go electric, then the windlass is just the proverbial tip of the ice berg. If going electric, next you must decide to either add a battery bank in the bow or run large gauge wiring from your battery bank to the bow of the vessel. Once this decision is made then the install is much more complicated due to the additional wiring and/or batteries. Don't forget to include a high amp fuse block or circuit breaker. Then you also must consider the additional draw on the batteries each time the windlass is used. Hmm... larger battery bank or additional energy production? Perhaps you could just run the engine anytime the windlass is in use?

Ok, it's true I'm bias towards the manual windlass.
 
Haha.....I see that!
That's why I may go manual. I just ran across someone who had the electric windlass for a decent price is why I am pondering that idea. I'll probably go the more simple route of the manual and only have to engineer just the mounting aspect without adding the electrical mayhem
 
jlipcovich said:
I was wondering if it were possible to glass in the aft 1/3 of the anchor door on the deck and mount the windlass there like I seen mentioned earlier BUT instead of cutting out the bottom of the current anchor compartment and making it bigger just drill a hole and run a hawse pipe through to the lower compartment. Then have the upper compartment for a second anchor with your chain and rode. I assume one disadvantage would be having to run below to knock over a chain pile.
Click to expand...
 
I installed a manual windless at the back 1/3 of the anchor locker door. I split the whole locker right down the center so to carry 2 anchors. I'll be cruising in october 2 nd going to Ft Myers beach with a couple of boats . I installed a Royal Lofrans Manual on WindRose a Morgan 384 there are pix !
 
My pix are under MEDIA Owners favorite photos Page #2 All of my photos are NOT labeled cause i did not know how.. so there are numbers. like DSCN1012 Boats name WindRose
If the pix are labeled with word its not mine ! If ya still can't find them I'll e mail them to you . I'm In Tarpon Springs Fl
 
Years ago i purchased my Sabre 28 in Naples moved it to punta gorda where my brother lives than worked on it for a few weeks to ready her for the trip north. Pretty country !
 
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