Anchor Windlass Recommendations

[CruiserAD]

Hi

I consider replacing my current Quick vertical windlass (1000W) as it is badly corroded. As the deck is being re-done I have no restrictions in terms of old mounting holes etc.

I'm looking for your personal (long term) experiences with the different brands (Lofrans, Quick, Maxwell, Lewmar) in terms of reliability and durability.

Sailing area worldwide i.e 99% of the time at anchor with a 7 to 38 feet cruising cat. Oversized Rocna of 30 kg and 60m of 8mm chain and possibly rope to extend.

All experiences welcomed!

Cheers Jan

[Allied39]

Lofrans tigres.

Was recomended to me by a friend who is a world cruiser retired mechanical engineer. He went into windlass research mode , said the only one better was a light house but was simply too expensive.

His word was good enough for me. !5 years no issue with the tigres.

[Cthoops]

We have a Maxwell that has given us zero issues in the two years we’ve been cruising so far, anchoring the vast majority of the time.

[mikeo16]

We have a Maxwell rc8-8 for our 36' sailboat and have been very happy with it. The motor on ours is located in the vberth so it stays dry. However, we do get an occasional drop of water down the spindle which seems to be impossible to prevent given the design

[Rowglide]

1979 (ish) Monica winch SOLID, very powerful.
Would buy a spare for parts if I could find one.

[CarlF]

Another vote for the Maxwell RC series. 10 years with no repairs or sign of corrosion - haven't even replaced the foot switches that failed frequently on my old Lewmar.

Very beefy pull. The vertical design puts all the corroding parts and wiring is below deck. Sure, you have a deck seal but I've never seen a drip on mine. My Lewmar on a previous boat always leaked at the "seal".

The gearbox under the seal is made of non-corroding allow and the electric motor is at right angles and well away from the gears. I don't think a drip from the seal would get the motor wet. (note -the smallest model the RC6 puts the motor vertically right under the seal - I don't think I'd get this one)

As with any vertical design, it wraps the chain almost 180 degrees around the wheel so chain slipping is never a problem - as it can be with the 90 degree wrap of a horizontal deck windlass.

The chain/rope wheel is the best I've ever seen. Goes right by the splice with no complaint. Neither the chain or rope ever slips.

The 316 stainless steel stays looking great with no significant maintenance. Greasing takes 10 minutes. I only do it once a year.

There's an 2nd winch handle socket on the perimeter of the winch. This gives you a way to manually retrieve the anchor if something goes wrong with the windlass motor. It would be quite a workout but better than nothing.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by CruiserAD

Hi

I consider replacing my current Quick vertical windlass (1000W) as it is badly corroded. As the deck is being re-done I have no restrictions in terms of old mounting holes etc.

I'm looking for your personal (long term) experiences with the different brands (Lofrans, Quick, Maxwell, Lewmar) in terms of reliability and durability.

Sailing area worldwide i.e 99% of the time at anchor with a 7 to 38 feet cruising cat. Oversized Rocna of 30 kg and 60m of 8mm chain and possibly rope to extend.

All experiences welcomed!

Cheers Jan

We have a Lewmar Concept I which we installed in 1993! It has been in continuous use since that date. The windlass, foot switches, and solenoid have been flawless. We have had a corrosion issues on the connections to the solenoid and foot switches which required cleaning.

However, the one reoccurring problem has been the plastic chain stripper which this model employed. The chain wears the plastic and eventually it fails. We were in a remote place when this occurred first. I made a replacement out of some fiberglass material I had on hand and got the windlass back in action. Now I carry two spares. But the strength of the plastic or similar materials is inadequate. If, for example, a piece of line or even a sail tie, is caught in the chain and passes into the chain stripper it can instantly break the stripper.

So, the durability, light weight, line speed, and ease of installation for the small Lewmar are great features, I'd say avoid any with a plastic chain stripper.

[VChild]

Originally Posted by CruiserAD

Hi

I consider replacing my current Quick vertical windlass (1000W) as it is badly corroded. As the deck is being re-done I have no restrictions in terms of old mounting holes etc.

I'm looking for your personal (long term) experiences with the different brands (Lofrans, Quick, Maxwell, Lewmar) in terms of reliability and durability.

Sailing area worldwide i.e 99% of the time at anchor with a 7 to 38 feet cruising cat. Oversized Rocna of 30 kg and 60m of 8mm chain and possibly rope to extend.

All experiences welcomed!

Cheers Jan

I have been very happy with my Lighthouse 1501. It is extremely robust. It has a mirror polished stainless steel construction. It can be set up different ways. Mine has dual chain gypsies and a single rope drum but any combination can be ordered. Mine also has wireless remote that is combined on a single remote with my SidePower bow thruster. Since mine was installed by a previous owner, I don't know what the cost was but I believe they are around 5K new. Mine is probably 20 years old but still works flawlessly.
There was a used one for sale on CF about a year ago - see image. It has a single chain gypsy and single drum.
Not sure if it is still available but looks like a great price for something that will last a lifetime.

[admiralslater]

Our 03 Outremer has a lofrans tigeress whichas been very reliable . I over filled it this year and it has started spitting oil out through the seals but that is my error. I bought a rebuild kit and will fix it this year

[stormalong]

I like Maxwell. I have had one Lewmar and two Maxwells. The only reason I have had two Maxwells is that when I was in NZ ten years ago they had a super sale so I upgraded from a VWC1200 to a VWC1500. My old one needed to be re-chromed and between the sale of my used one and the savings on the new one it was cheaper to buy new.

The Lewmar that I bought in 1991 (a 1000) was junk. They advertised it as a one thousand but when you get it the fine print said 700 pounds maximum pull and 1000 pounds static load. The gear assembly was a sealed unit and no service parts were available. I stripped the gears a few years later and the only repair option was to replace the entire gear assembly. So I bought a Maxwell VWC1200.

The Maxell VWC series can be taken apart to the individual components and all individual parts are available. They have very knowledgeable customer service. One thing that was a problem back then (1995) was that the gear housing and shaft tube were aluminum and they corroded badly after a decade. I had to replace them. At least Maxwell could supply the parts at reasonable cost.

The VWC1500 that I bought a decade ago has a plastic gear housing and shaft tube that are still good today. The way the gear housing and the shaft tube connect also gives great flexibility in how you orient the motor - for my installation that is a big deal.

So, hands down I prefer Maxwell over Lewmar. IMO the marketing on the Lewmar was fraudulent and I don't trust Lewmar because of it.

[VChild]

See the following description of Lighthouse 1501

Windlass 1501

Hands down the best

[DeValency]

No experience with the others but my Lofrans is 28 years old and it is still working great.