Wireless windlass remote control

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Guys, I honestly don't know why you would wish to remote control the most powerful piece of deck equipment without being on the bow to make sure some obstruction does not destroy your foredeck

Those who want to blindly raise the anchor from the cockpit are just asking for trouble.

You are right, it shouldn't be blindly done and you should take a few precautions if you use one. I find it usefull when raising the anchor single handed to knock the chain pile down, I then go to the helm, motor forwards, neutral, then remotely lift the chain, walk forwards so doing, check and reduce the pile, walk back, still raising, rinse and repeat. It saves a lot of time and is reasonably safe for the boat as long as I watch things carefully. It is also a lot easier to use and safer to be away from the foot switches in my boat, which are not well placed.

[Pelagic]

Thanks for confirming the caution that should be exercised if using a remote control.

I have seen the results of many newbies who didn't realize the dangers

[CaptTom]

I also use the one from eBay linked above, which came with 2 remotes. You can buy 20 of them for the price of a name-brand windlass remote. I keep a whole spare set (receiver and 2 remotes) on board. Best $12 I ever spent!

That said, the $40 set on Amazon also looks like it's well worth it. It's about time someone realized that these things shouldn't cost $250 and up!

[Anders]

Have a cockpit switch but a wireless remote sounds like a nice extra.
Are these cheap remotes "keyed" to a particular receiver or could anyone within range raise my anchor?

[CaptTom]

Not sure if they're keyed, but they aren't built for range. They're designed to use with a winch on an off-road vehicle, so the assumption is you're pretty close to the receiver when using it.

I doubt the next boat over could hit your receiver.

[Diesel Bill]

Originally Posted by ben373

I have installed one of the cheapies on ebay and works fine. It is fantastic being wireless. Cost $12

Sent from my GT-N5120 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

O.K. I bit the bullet last month and ordered the $12.00 cheapo last month and finally got around to installing it yesterday. I kept procrastinating because other projects had priority. Also was not looking forward to squeezing my fat but into the anchor locker. It took longer to empty the locker than it did to hook up red and black wires for pos and neg, and yellow and white for up and down.

Sometimes thinking about the job is harder than actually doing it.


Works very well. I have no idea how long it will last. Hopefully longer than me.