any ideas on anchor winch?

[stockhorse]

Any ideas about an anchor winch for a 5.1 half cab? I should have room for a small drum style winch in the anchor well, but have no idea what lbs/kg strength I would require.

[LittleSkipper]

Any ideas about an anchor winch for a 5.1 half cab? I should have room for a small drum style winch in the anchor well, but have no idea what lbs/kg strength I would require.

I'm currently having fitted the StressFree NG Mini FreeFall Anchor Winch on my 4.8 Cuddy.


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[chocolatemoose]

id be suggesting a lonestar g3-500d. about a grand and great piece of kit

[LittleSkipper]

id be suggesting a lonestar g3-500d. about a grand and great piece of kit

What's your opinions between the StressFree & LoneStar Moose?


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[Harmytage]

Hi Stockhorse,
I have a stress free Midi on a 625 tournament so at your size of boat you can go down to the mini size.
I have the free fall feature on mine and it works great if you are anchoring in 50m or less its great to be able move position at the drop of a hat.

I had a issue with a bent shaft due to me trying to pull up half of Hutchinson's reef at one stage however I contacted stress free who arranged for the freight back to Adelaide for the repairs and they carried out the repairs under warranty and upgraded the base mounting plate to a thicker version so it didn't happen again all for free the only thing I paid for was $100 bucks for the round trip in freight from Brisbane to Adelaide and back again.

This was all done in under a week so I cant fault their after sales service , I am sure there are other winches out there just as good, like chocolate moose has suggested the lone star.
I was just really impressed with the service and help I got from stress free marine.
I even posted a thread on this forum at the time.
Hope it helps anyway .
Cheers Hunter

[Aussie123]

Check out the Viper "Pro Series II" 1000 Electric Drum Anchor Winch Kit
These are a great winch and the kit comes with virtually everything you need except the wiring loom.

[chocolatemoose]

so in the past 5and a bit years we have had..... sav, stressfree, bell, muir, lonestar, tuff, QMF drum winches. and. woah. how the game has changed. in the begining there was Muir out of tasmania and stress free out of SA. victoria was DYEING for a local made winch. enter SAV. so then there were three. and we sold stressfree like htocakes. spite the 3k cost at the time. then came sav and the game went to more like 2K. this was when winches were "Still big" the range of sizes available now is a lot more vast.

im trying to be diplomatic here. because the winch brand thing "here in vic" is SUPER heated.. and very touchy

winch quality has been getting better. with sav first to introduced sealed wiring into motor housings. and then lonestar using a stainless casing. and now bell with stainless motor housing with sealed wires.

bells' earlier winches were ...... cheap.... sold a lot of them as a result. but they had alignment issues on some. and some less than fantastic build quality

Muir just disapeared off the radar based on cost mostly and they just didnt support their product as much "Fair play they do a lot more capstan winches"

stress free was still around. but with more local compitition. espesially making themselves more preasent at boat shows etc it got a bit harder and we ended up selling less
the win for stressfree was its Free fall range.. great idea. but.. tricky. we did have a few teathing issues with the clutch mechanism

sav adressed this in his own way by developing his electronic fast fall box. that boosted the speed of the winch

lone star has taken the lead in the marketing and product support. and......they make a good winch....

so........what does all this mean

well the way i see it. there is the australian made stress free , the australian made sav. the australian* made tuff. the chinese made lone star, the chinese made bell. . . now people would be quick to say.. what!! chinese.. screw that
and .....well... i wouldnt be so quick.. fact is. china is just a manufacturing powerhouse and quality is pretty dam good. so the lone star and the bells.....IMO... take the cake.

so. yeah.........there is ALOT more behind the scenes and such but.. thats enough chit chat now :D

[LittleSkipper]

so in the past 5and a bit years we have had..... sav, stressfree, bell, muir, lonestar, tuff, QMF drum winches. and. woah. how the game has changed. in the begining there was Muir out of tasmania and stress free out of SA. victoria was DYEING for a local made winch. enter SAV. so then there were three. and we sold stressfree like htocakes. spite the 3k cost at the time. then came sav and the game went to more like 2K. this was when winches were "Still big" the range of sizes available now is a lot more vast.

im trying to be diplomatic here. because the winch brand thing "here in vic" is SUPER heated.. and very touchy

winch quality has been getting better. with sav first to introduced sealed wiring into motor housings. and then lonestar using a stainless casing. and now bell with stainless motor housing with sealed wires.

bells' earlier winches were ...... cheap.... sold a lot of them as a result. but they had alignment issues on some. and some less than fantastic build quality

Muir just disapeared off the radar based on cost mostly and they just didnt support their product as much "Fair play they do a lot more capstan winches"

stress free was still around. but with more local compitition. espesially making themselves more preasent at boat shows etc it got a bit harder and we ended up selling less
the win for stressfree was its Free fall range.. great idea. but.. tricky. we did have a few teathing issues with the clutch mechanism

sav adressed this in his own way by developing his electronic fast fall box. that boosted the speed of the winch

lone star has taken the lead in the marketing and product support. and......they make a good winch....

so........what does all this mean

well the way i see it. there is the australian made stress free , the australian made sav. the australian* made tuff. the chinese made lone star, the chinese made bell. . . now people would be quick to say.. what!! chinese.. screw that
and .....well... i wouldnt be so quick.. fact is. china is just a manufacturing powerhouse and quality is pretty dam good. so the lone star and the bells.....IMO... take the cake.

so. yeah.........there is ALOT more behind the scenes and such but.. thats enough chit chat now :D

Thanks for the insight Moose. Yes! It doesn't surprise me that a couple of those brands are made in China. But also still nice to see that some winch manufacturing is still in the land of Oz.


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[bonneville]

yeah, i'll second that from what moose is saying, my current winch is lonestar on a 5.4mtr, ive had others on other boats, no major issues to speak of, this is the first one ive actually fitted. Very easy to do it yourself, 2 years on, cant complain. performs as good as others.
mate had one fishing merembula over holidays, lonestar winch spat the dummy, a quick phone call and the part was flown in to Canberra, picked up by a holidaying staff member and fitted the next day at a half way point between the pair !
I believe its not so much the fact an issue can happen, I judge on how efficiently its rectified, and that was unquestionable service.
some chinese products as moose sais, are of exceptional quality, I know the assembly and factory here in Melbourne employ quite a few locals, so that's good enough for me.

bonneville

[BM]

I personally know the owner of Lonestar (Malki) and he is an excellent bloke who backs his product 100%. Anyone dealing with him gets first class service and warranty backing that is likely the best in the industry.

Yes his winches come from China but Malki went to China to sit with the manufacturer and tailor make his product and has regular R&D sessions with his manufacturer. Not like others who just buy what's on offer. That's what sets him apart from the others.

Buy with confidence from Lonestar.

[bushwacker]

Free fall Stressfree all the way...

[cro142]

Does anybody have experience of the "Micks Winch" from South Australia??
Mick certainly talks up a good story, but I would like to hear from customers with experience of the product.

[Rip it up]

Stockhorse, your inbox is full for message returns. So can you please delete a few to make space.


Damo's dodgy boat building repair centre.

[stockhorse]

in box cleared ,sorry about that

[aardvarkscotty]

Does anybody have experience of the "Micks Winch" from South Australia??
Mick certainly talks up a good story, but I would like to hear from customers with experience of the product.

yep I've got one of Micks early ones...must be 7-8 years old now as got it in 2007 and its never missed a beat. I have a sarca no 3 and some heavy 12mm chain which would be damn heavy to haul by hand. Holds 125m of rope plus chain. Mick can do installs for you but I did my own. He has done interstate runs but best to contact him.
Uses quick electrics and I wouldnt be without a winch in any boat nowadays.
Very happy with the winch. I think Mick told me the gear box oil needs changing after 4000 hours of use and this would be by my great grand kids if it ever got to that...haha.

[Fed]

I have a lot of trouble seeing any advantage over an anchor yanker ball at all.

[Crunchy]

Hard to run over your winch

[aardvarkscotty]

I have a lot of trouble seeing any advantage over an anchor yanker ball at all.

go out in someones boat with a winch and it will be obvious.
I used to have a ball but found it cumbersome, especially in shallow water and a lot of boats around, now its start motor, flick switch, up anchor and away. Much easier for solo trips too....but hey each to their own.

[LittleSkipper]

go out in someones boat with a winch and it will be obvious.
I used to have a ball but found it cumbersome, especially in shallow water and a lot of boats around, now its start motor, flick switch, up anchor and away. Much easier for solo trips too....but hey each to their own.

Like the age old saying goes..."you can do it the easy way; or the hard way"


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[Fed]

I guess running over the rope is one point Crunchy but it's easy to see with a big white ball on the surface.

Scotty I confess to never having used a winch but take your point about yanking in a crowd.

It's my understanding you need to tie them off when anchored and also if you get 'stuck' and have to use the boat to break free?
Also have to motor forward as you retrieve and hope the anchor lifts off easily?

I don't think they'd suit me with a reef pick in 20M-80M but maybe good for sheltered waters with sand/mud bottom.

I like to anchor up then clip the ball on and let out another 2 boat lengths, all ready for a no fuss getaway.

[aardvarkscotty]

@Fed depends on the winch, most drum style winches worth their salt dont need tying off...sort of defeats the purpose of having to go up front to tie off in my opinion, as its all about the convenience. The drums are limited in capacity (Ive got 125m on mine which suits the depths I fish/anchor in).
80M is a long way down for anchoring, we'd tend to do drifts anyway at that depths as can be hard to get on your mark even if you do have capacity.
I know the free fall models can help minimise this but have heard interesting behaviours with actuators not working so not sure Id trust them but maybe they are now more reliable (anyone care to share experiences with free fall?).

Personally the winch is probably the best extra I've put on the boat, makes it easy to up anchor and change spots or reposition if I get it wrong, and its a 1 man job (well 1 finger!). Wouldnt have a boat without one from now on.

[Fed]

Well if you don't have to tie them off then that is a definite advantage Scotty.

[LittleSkipper]

I guess running over the rope is one point Crunchy but it's easy to see with a big white ball on the surface.

Scotty I confess to never having used a winch but take your point about yanking in a crowd.

It's my understanding you need to tie them off when anchored and also if you get 'stuck' and have to use the boat to break free?
Also have to motor forward as you retrieve and hope the anchor lifts off easily?

I don't think they'd suit me with a reef pick in 20M-80M but maybe good for sheltered waters with sand/mud bottom.

I like to anchor up then clip the ball on and let out another 2 boat lengths, all ready for a no fuss getaway.

Modern electric anchor winches such as the Stress Free do not require tying off and function quite well with most types of anchors.
You make it sound like their more of a hindrance than an assistant? Eventually you will grow tired of pulling in that 100 or so metres of rope.


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[bonneville]

I pulled anchors up by hand for years, but once you get a boat with an anchor winch, you never go back.
The ease of setting and retrieving an anchor is no comparison !
never had to tie off any of my winches, and as far as motoring forward slightly as you retrieve, well, same as manually doing it, otherwise your back is pulling the boat forward in most cases. I used to think they were a luxury item ! how wrong was I
each to there own but, a mate of mine drops anchor from the side, likes my set up but prefers his manual system.
I think once you start heading north of 50, you tend to appreciate an anchor winch even more......

B

[MEG-A-BITE]

any of you got a lone star,looking at the 6000?

[bonneville]

yep, I have a lonestar, excellent piece of kit,
malki will give you excellent back up and advice, there's a life time warrantee on some of the internals, and any issues ive heard about them were minor and never an issue to contact them direct..... good winch

B

[Dignity]

I like to anchor up then clip the ball on and let out another 2 boat lengths, all ready for a no fuss getaway.
Fed, so you still need to tie off your anchor, same as a lot of winches or am I missing a special technique here.
I have an anchor winch but it is not freefall and so I don't use it offshore only in pumistone passage when I take family and friends out. One issue with the ball is that when we pull the anchor in we put all the rope, ball, anchor and chain into a bin in the cockpit, always at hand and never needing to get up front other than to let more rode out or pull some in. The bin tends to take up cockpit space when fishing though so I would appreciate a new winch however it gets a little more complex with my setup as I would have to get a new hatch made to fit one.

[odieman150]

I have just fitted a sav winch to my 5.3 cuddy and am happy with it so far with only a couple of trips but time will tell. I had a stress free on my previous 5.3 bow rider but sadly had to part with the boat. Must admit I think the free fall on the stress free was superior to the fast fall on the sav IMO. I was a few hundred dollars short of a stress free this time around. odieman

[Fed]

Well if you don't have to tie them off then that is a definite advantage Scotty.
That's what I was getting at Dignity, I was under the impression that pretty much all the winches had to be tied off. I did Google a lot of winches a few years ago and that's how it seemed at the time but now the guys are telling me it's not the case.

[fishing111]

I have a low profile cabin and getting to the front is a pia and that's the whole reason i went with a SF winch to not tie off, otherwise I can't see the advantage of having one in the boat if you have to clamper to the front every time. I haven't used it near enough to give it a solid thumbs up or even justify the purchase to be honest, however i can give sf a big thumbs up on customer service with a problem i had, and from all other accounts that you read on various forums they really stand by their product which is very reassuring in today's world.

[chocolatemoose]

which winch ? lol sorr i just laughed pretty hard at myself for saying that outloud in the shop :P

so many choices now days :D

[frank100]

Stockhorse do a search on this site for "recipe for a winch". It still works, although only just enough power, it needs to be tied off when at anchor, it also needs the rope guided by hand (glove) but by hell it's a back saver !
Frank