Anchor winch

[mossy43]

Hi guy's I have a 4.70m Cruisecraft and as the back is not like it use to I am thinking of putting a drum winch on her. Due to the enormous amount on the market these days I am after a little advice on which breed, model etc would be the best to buy. Thanks in advance.

Mossy

[Chimo]

Mossy

While your exploring drum winches have you ever used a float ball and ring to lift your anchor so you just have to pull the warp in and drop it all in a bin until you use it again?

Chimo

[mossy43]

Hi Chimo I have used that method many times before on my big boats so I will keep that in mind.

Mossy

[odieman150]

After having had stressfree on a previous boat and now savwinch on current boat I would definitely look at streesfree if I were to look at another vessel. Not because of quality or reliability but for a few extra dollars the stressfree has free fall function and the sav has electronic fast fall which seems to take a lot longer to hit bottom when you're in 10+ meters (just something that annoys me when trying to anchor on a particular spot :sleeping:)

[perko]

I have one of the new Lonestar GX3 winch on my Kevlacat 2400. Very impressed with it. No frills, high quality build and very well priced.

[chuss]

Micks winch by a country mile.
Seriously, the best I've ever used and the best construction Ive seen. The guy will show you the inner guts of his motors as proof.
I run one on my bar crusher 670c. Holds 125m of 8mm nylon 3 strand and 8m of chain.
I have used stressfree and lonestar in the past, they were pretty good to, but Micks motors are seriously good.

[chocolatemoose]

for speed. go a stress free or a lonestar elite winch
for reliability id go a lonestar GX series winch

disclaimer
i am a lonestar dealer
"also a stressfree, muir, lewmar, bell marine, maxwell, and former sav"

[ranmar850]

No love for the vertical windlass type? My boat would be REALLY difficult to fit a drum winch to, a lot of cutting and glassing required. It would appear the vertical gypsy types are fine if you use the correct rope and chain type and size. I was considering going to a South Pacific SP 800F which is a the next size up from the SP 700 most people fit to 5-6 metre boats. Lets you use a 20lb anchor and larger(7mm) chain instead of 15lb, and has over double the pull of the smaller one. I Know that the fashion is all for drum winches, but the fact that the rope is tied on to the drum absolutely precludes the use for my type of fishing, as well as the abovementioned fitting issue.

[danielsp]

I am looking at fitting a Bell Marine Micro Winch as there isn't a lot of room up front in my Stessco 510 cuddy. From all reviews they seem to be well made and strong for their size. Might be worth having a look at.

[drpete]

I fish deep a lot and I always anchor using a reef pick and ball float to retrieve.
I've always wondered how you get up a really set anchor using a winch?
Do you just drive over it and give it some stick with the winch, or do you wrap the rope round a stay and pull it with the motor the same way as with a ball set-up?
Don't mean to hijack the thread, just curious...
Peter

[ranmar850]

^^^ me too. My major concern with any type of winch. Any grapple/multiprong type will be "stuck"every time you use it, that's how they work. And should be easy to straighten, winch shouldn't be troubled. Sarcas will rely on the slide rrunning back if it is snagged, ploughs will pivot and hopefully screw around. I know i've had a few well stuck over the years using the Ezi-lift clip and polyform float, and only ever had to abandon one--I believe it was chain wrapped on very rugged coral. I actually use an old 15lb Danforth for everything now, even reef--it is the slider type, but will also bend the flukes easily, which can be straightened on deck. One day it will come up with one snapped off, but I reckon I've had my moneys worth out of it. Would't fancy losing a $200 pick, though...

[Dignity]

I fish deep a lot and I always anchor using a reef pick and ball float to retrieve.
I've always wondered how you get up a really set anchor using a winch?
Do you just drive over it and give it some stick with the winch, or do you wrap the rope round a stay and pull it with the motor the same way as with a ball set-up?
Don't mean to hijack the thread, just curious...
Peter
I still carry the float with me and have a snap lock so that I can clip it onto the rode in this situation as I got caught out once and eventually lost the anchor. I also use zippy ties on the Mooloolaba pick that I use and as it is a cabin boat and the has a bow sprit it can be awkward to get to in seas so I also have a SS ring with a rope spliced onto it and the anchor rope and chain is fed thru it, the rope is tied back to the cockpit. If the ties are broken I just release the anchor 6 meters, pull the rope up from the cockpit and add new zippy ties, pull the anchor back in. The ties rarely break.
The one thing with any winch is get the biggest that will fit, this is one area you do not want to skimp on as you will regret it.

[KEMEL K]

Agree with dignity, forget what size the sales rep tells you will suit your boat. Get the biggest and most powerfull you can fit and afford!!!!
I will not make same mistake again

[Dignity]

Agree with dignity, forget what size the sales rep tells you will suit your boat. Get the biggest and most powerfull you can fit and afford!!!!
I will not make same mistake again

Been there done that. I m sure that all the info on retrieval rates etc are calculated in a bathtub , add swell and seas even on a relatively calm day with a bit of a breeze and they reduce dramatically compared to calm water and very little tide movement. You should/will need to use both batteries and preferably have the motor running especially offshore.

[Dignity]

Agree with dignity, forget what size the sales rep tells you will suit your boat. Get the biggest and most powerfull you can fit and afford!!!!
I will not make same mistake again

Been there done that. I m sure that all the info on retrieval rates etc are calculated in a bathtub , add swell and seas even on a relatively calm day with a bit of a breeze and they reduce dramatically compared to calm water and very little tide movement. You should/will need to use both batteries and preferably have the motor running especially offshore. Also get a free fall as maneuvering and holding a switch for quite a while is quite painful, even 60 seconds holding a switch waiting to deploy 30 meters of rode is a bloody long time especially if conditions aren't optimal, have had to do it at Sth Stradbroke trying to anchor where anchoring back to shore with racing tide, wind and it can be quite painful when one hand is out of action holding that down button. Even when offshore the other day I was thankful for the free fall as swell and wind was at 90 degrees to each other and current 180 degrees to swell, needed my wits about me and both hands free. Others more experienced may not have had a problem but getting older you soon get to appreciate the finer points.

[Noelm]

If you must have a winch, a Micks winch is very good, probably the best (in my opinion) he is usually at the major boat shows if you can wait, my boat had a winch on it when I got it, but prefer the ball method, not a huge fan of winches, unless you have a bigger boat, with a big anchor.

[mossy43]

Thank's guy's a lot of information here I did not know about winches I appreciate everybody's input. Now the search begins thanks.

[Dignity]

If you must have a winch, a Micks winch is very good, probably the best (in my opinion) he is usually at the major boat shows if you can wait, my boat had a winch on it when I got it, but prefer the ball method, not a huge fan of winches, unless you have a bigger boat, with a big anchor.

I agree, with a winch you generally need the next heavier anchor to what you are using.

[KEMEL K]

Dignity, a peg under the rocker switch keeps both hands free.

[Out_There]

Have you thought about an electric? The guy I bought my boat off removed a drum setup and fitted a minncota. The riptide st holds a 5.7 meter plate no worries. Put it down and use the position hold. Adjust to over the fish as required, no resetting anchors and scaring fish if it doesn't grab exactly were you want it. Haven't used the anchor to fish since I got it.

[Noelm]

Not exactly sure an electric is a replacement for an anchor, might be OK for a few minutes maybe, but for hours? overnight? Doubt it.

[LittleSkipper]

Hi guy's I have a 4.70m Cruisecraft and as the back is not like it use to I am thinking of putting a drum winch on her. Due to the enormous amount on the market these days I am after a little advice on which breed, model etc would be the best to buy. Thanks in advance.

Mossy

Gidday Mossy. The backs not what it used to be? I know that feeling. Here's some pics of my StressFree Free Fall.

I too was considering a Minn Kota over the winch but have limited space for extra batteries.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160521/3ae4edd23f6004c0fb4cbb702ff6af87.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160521/625cc769519de0a2bc8ef15e1b7f7829.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160521/9155cb96c729a8e2b0a3d7d7dbf28454.jpg

[Fed]

British Dictionary definitions for electric winch
Expand
electric winch1


/wɪntʃ/

noun1. A $2000 solution looking for a problem to solve.

[Ringy35]

Have you thought about an electric? The guy I bought my boat off removed a drum setup and fitted a minncota. The riptide st holds a 5.7 meter plate no worries. Put it down and use the position hold. Adjust to over the fish as required, no resetting anchors and scaring fish if it doesn't grab exactly were you want it. Haven't used the anchor to fish since I got it.
Mates got a minn kota on his 5.7 seajay. It's unbelievably good when the wind and current allow it to be... couple of weeks ago it held us right on top of marks all day, then on Thursday it held us for only 4-5 hours and then it was useless for the the next 2 days of the trip....
That's with 2x120ah deep cycles running 24V..

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Out_There]

Noel, i've used it for 5 hours trolling(1 to 2 knots) for macks and all day trips to the banks and had plenty in reserve. When you can stop above any show you find you don't need to do overnighters. I leave at 7 ish, go to the banks, back mid arvo with plenty. I have a danforth i use as a backup and has only been used to surf the island.

[chocolatemoose]

minnkota, (or JW or motorguide etc) with gps locking features are great.. but....................its two different things compared to a winch?
not really sure why the comparison would be made?

[Cape Crusader]

G'day
I suspect some of the winch ratings are based on the line speed when the drum is full. The line speed varies greatly from near empty to a full drum. As someone suggested getting the biggest and best you can afford is a good idea and can also help with retrieval speed. If you can only have just enough, you will be getting to the drums shaft and retrieval rate is painfully slow. I use small diameter rope to get the max on the drum ie 200m of 8mm double braid which is rated at 950kg.
If you only fish very shallow water it's obviosly not an issue, as long as you have enough for safe boating
Cheers
PS I can also vouch for the quality of Mick's winch