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Old 07-09-2005, 14:40   #1
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Windlass repair or replacement

My Ideal windlass is wore out and needs to be rebuilt or relplaced. I have called Ideal and a new unit like mine is $6500. I now have been looking at other brands that are less than half the cost of a new Ideal. The cost to rebuild the Ideal and make the upgrades that I would like would easily hit $4000. and that is doing the work myself. Is Ideal that much better than other brands? I see on ebay a LoFrans that is about the same power as mine for $1699. Are they any good? Thanks for any help.
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Old 07-09-2005, 14:41   #2
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lofrans have best reputation in UK.
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Old 07-09-2005, 16:40   #3
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Same problem

I have a similar problem. We have an Ideal windlass that does not accept chain. To replace the drum, Ideal wants $1300. I'm seriously considering a new windlass, as you are, for a few hundred more. Thanks for asking the question.

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Old 08-09-2005, 02:18   #4
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If you do a search back through other forums, you will find that Lewmar (who took over Simpson Lawrence) have had some problems with water ingress.

Two most popular on british boats are Quick (from USA) cause it is the cheapest offering, and Lofrans. The most imortant area to check is whether they make a gypsy that will accept the chain that you have. There have been a number of problems reported by people about the different windlasses, and most of these have been traced to using a calibrated chain, that was not calibrated for that windlass!
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Old 08-09-2005, 06:10   #5
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Does anyone know anything about "Muir" windlass'?
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Old 08-09-2005, 08:26   #6
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Tried the Australina Miur on my boat, but took it off after a day and returned it to the dealer.
The gypsy was not as good as the Simpson Lawrence 555 Sea Tiger I had before and the chain jumped with almost no load.

Bought a brand new 555 instead.

Lofrans are good.
The "Falcon" are about 1500 watts if memory serves right and some guys use 'em for all chain and 88lbs anchors.
About $2,600.00 with a discount, $4,000.00 is full price.

The Tigres are slightly smaller and can be had for about $1600.00

The cheapest source I found for Lofrans was an internet company in Seattle, forgot the details, but a Google search should
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Old 08-09-2005, 10:19   #7
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Had good performance with Muir

Several boats with different models of Muir here are working well. They are strong and have a good retreival rate to get the anchor up relatively fast under load.

One problem with one, which is a problem with ANY windlass, I believe, was when the boat anchored directly from his windlass without any snubber or relief. The surge caused a significant "jerk" (defined as the derivitave of acceleration) which ruined the gear. The gear and its associated bearing were replaced without undue economic strain and all is well with the skipper better informed as just how to properly use a windlass.

I would like to know the details of just what was wrong with the one that brought CSY Man grief.
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Old 08-09-2005, 11:13   #8
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Quote:
I would like to know the details of just what was wrong with the one that brought CSY Man grief.
The gypsy wheel was too shallow and did not hold the chain good enough.

I mounted the windlass on the boat and before leaving the dock let the anchor out in 7 feet of water and was unable to retrive it using the windlass...Sort of defeated the purpose.

(Yes the gypsy was the right size for the chain and the chain the right size for the gypsy)

I "de-mounted" the windlass, (Model Hercules) and took it back to the marine store....Explained the situation to the manager and he said with a sigh that yes, Somson Lawrence have better gypsies (chain wheels) and he was aware of it.

Seems like the Muir needed at least a 90 degree angle on the chain, but the Sea Tiger was more tolerant for a shallower angle, which I have..

The Hercules was more or less a direct copy of the Sea Tiger and it sold slightly cheaper, that is why I bought it....The savings did not pay off however due to the extra work putting it on, then taking it off, then ordering the other one, re-stocking fee, etc., etc.

Not saying all Muirs are bad, just that the one I tried did not work out 'cause the chain wheel was not cut deep enough.
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Old 09-09-2005, 00:03   #9
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Ouch, that's a lot of money.
Check out Maxwell Winches. Personally I think they are the best. I have had a lot of absolute trouble free and dependable use from mine.
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Old 13-09-2005, 09:29   #10
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Anyone know anything about the Lewmar Sprint 3000? t is in the lead as my choice as a replacment at $2700. It has many of the features that I am looking for.
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Old 13-09-2005, 13:04   #11
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Yes it is a very good and well respected Winch. Lewmar is a name that has good support world wide. It is also about the price range I would expect you to be paying for a winch.
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