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| Windlass Guidance
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March 4, 2003
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Going to be building a 22' jet boat for Northwest fishing. Been fishing many times in the Columbia River with friends and always get stuck as the one to pull up all of the anchoring rope as we leave the river. DON'T want to do this on my boat, probably get too old anyway to pull it in.
I figure the answer will be to build on an electric windlass for my boat to let it do the PULLING.
Been looking at many models, do you have experience, or hear of horror stories, or great stories on any of these:
SIMPSON LAWRENCE--Horizon 600/900 G or Freefall
IDEAL--windlasses
GOOD--automatic free-drop 500 rope series
LOFRANS--Dorado 400/700
QUICK--Genius 1000
MAXWELL--VC 500 series
POWERWINCH--windlasses
Thanks for sharing any info.
RFR
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Response
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First, are you absolutely sure you need a power windlass? An 11-pound Bruce would be plenty of anchor for your boat, and it works fine with 10 feet of 1/4-inch chain. You could use 3/8-inch double-braid nylon anchor rope and be plenty strong enough. If you used a Danforth-style anchor, something in the 8-pound range would be sufficient, although with a Danforth-style anchor it would be a good idea to increase the chain length to 15 feet or so. We used an 11-pound Bruce with 10 feet of chain on our 26-foot Thunderbird sailboat and felt no need for a windlass. In fact, prior to setting off for Desolation Sound we moved up to a 16.5-pound Bruce and could hardly feel the difference in handling.
Maybe what you're concerned with is fighting the pull of the river current against the boat as you're recovering the anchor. If that's the case, ignore the above argument.
As to your question, I'm sorry to report that I'm not a good source of information about windlasses. Our present boat, a Tollycraft 37, has an Ideal windlass and 300 feet of chain. While it's not a bit similar to the challenge you face, the Ideal windlass has worked without a problem for 20 years. The Ideal windlass's biggest drawback is that it's a free-fall design, and I pay out the chain anchor rode hand over hand to lower the anchor to the bottom. In a deep anchorage the combined weight of anchor and chain gets to be a bit much, so we're changing to a Lofrans windlass with power down and up. Our choice of Lofrans was influenced by the fact that Grand Banks boats come with Lofrans, and a marine surveyor who's a neighbor on the dock installed the same Lofrans model on his boat. Also, I like the styling of the particular Lofrans model we're getting.
This is not what I would call exhaustive research, and I don't offer it as such.
Lacking a better alternative, I think you should talk with as many boatowners as you can find, to learn what their experiences are. See if you can find patterns, good or bad. If you can find any product comparisons in publications such as Powerboat Reports or Practical Sailor, read them for background. Be careful, however, about accepting their conclusions and recommendations. Sometimes they compare things that either are not comparable or are irrelevant, and miss things that are important.
Since it's a one-time purchase, performance and ease of maintenance should be your primary considerations, and price should not (I'm assuming that all the possible choices are within your range of affordability).
There you have what I know, which isn't much. Good luck with your project.
--Bob Hale
P.S. My Ideal windlass will be for sale -- good price -- after the new windlass is installed. It's much too large for your boat, but I thought you should know.
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Reply
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Thanks for your feedback.
The strong river current of the Columbia is exactly why I want to invest in a windlass. When fishing for sturgeon we usually let out about 250' rope with anchor & drift back. It is a real bear to pull all that rope back in the boat, SO NOT ON MY BOAT! Plus we are usually using a 25+ pound anchor--my poor back.
No problem with the Ideal equipment & free fall on rope is what I need for fast drop at the right spot on the river.
RFR
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