Simpson Lawrence Windlass

[Little Otter]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I like the idea of all that on a drum above deck. Unfortunately, you would need to push the "Supersize Button" to get any line on that warn. And then there is the rust in a marine environment.... I used to use ATV winches for another purpose on a commercial line of boats and they dont last long at all.... even protected from the weather. The Warn may be better though.

Warn is the best ATV winch out there, they also make smaller, larger, and portable models. if you removed the bars then it would work fine and it dosen't have a rusting problem,so if you made a winch covering it would be great.

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by sneuman

I own an SL 555 (manual) and have had no problems with it. However, if I should ever have a problem, it looks like replacement parts would be very difficult to find. So, that would be a consideration.

SL555 is a totally different animal, is manual, and made by a totally different Simpson Lawrence.

[Pete the Cat]

I have a Simpson Lawrence Sprint 900 for about 15 years and it has served me well--including a couple years of everyday use in the tropics. I did not see any problems with quality, but they were bought out by Lewmar and getting parts from Lewmar for anything is a nightmare in my experience.

[SV Someday Came]

Originally Posted by GMac

Being a Kiwi I'd have to drop in Maxwell but Quick are going aright as is Lofrans.

I don't understand the sentence. "... but Quick are going aright as is Lofrans."

I am following this thread because I need a windlass -- I just don't want to miss something.

Thanks

Michael

[GMac]

G'day MV,

At school I wasn't allowed in English class much so I may have to excuse my wobbly skills

I'm a kiwi so as Maxwells are made here I have to say they are good and they are anyway. Very popular and their sales growth is very big, which is telling. Generally will out lift all the others class for class but they love sucking power.

Quick winches are going OK and they do seem one of the better at asking users what are the problems and them fixing them. I supply the Quick agents here and every year a man from Quick comes down here and asks "what can we improve?". They have changed the odd thing that was suggested. Nice to see feedback being listened too.

Lofrans are big and organised. If you look back through their range over the last 10 years, the models which weren't the best got re-worked quickly and the models that are good have stayed. Good to see someone lose the losers and not fix something that is not broken.

Lewmars are going OK and better than the last range of S/L. They are trying but winches are only a tiny fraction of the companies products. Lewmar is part of a real big outfit. I'm not convinced they take the winches as seriously as those who have winches as their main product. Not one of the big pullers.

South Pacific. OK on tinnies and on the smaller boats. Not for 35ft + boats yet. A bit liteweight.

Anchorlift. Starting to make a few waves. Basic but seem to work very well. Nice speeds both up and down.

Muir. Strong but slow. Basic and flash versions of most sizes. Better the bigger the winch is. Haven't had a real good suss of the new range yet but have heard good things.

Just need to watch the published numbers put out by all. There is no standard measurements test amongst the manufacturers. The numbers published are based off different ways of finding them. Generally most published numbers are OK or a little high in the good bits and low in the bad. Most do use more power than suggested and will struggle to pull the max load.

Every thing we have seen suggests Maxwells numbers are spot on or understated, one or 2 are overstated a lot in places but most others should be regarded as being 'in the very best possible situation' type, the kind you don't usually have on a boat.

[johnar]

I really do not see how the Warn would work, from what i see you have to run the line around the drum and unless i am missing something the drum would fill fast. Looking at it there is no way to run the line to fall off as you pull in like normal winch.

I am going to pass on the SL just because of the asking price and hard to find replacement parts.

I will find something new that i know i can get parts if ever needed.

Thank you

John

[SV Someday Came]

Originally Posted by GMac

Maxwell RC 800 (sometimes called the Freedom 800) would be my call but (and Shhh it's still a secret... ) they have a new model coming out shortly based on the RC10 and we have been helping with a little testing. It looks to be a stunner and will stir it all up a bit. The new owners what to take on the beat the world. They look to be starting off in the right direction.

Thanks GMac for the clarification. Your language was clear, it was my vocabulary that needed work. I did not know Quick was a maker of winches -- and I ought to have known it was a proper name since you capitalized it in your initial post. My bad.

Will you offer more information in regards to the above quote? svHyLyte is also strong proponent of Maxwell too, so i am heavily leaning in that direction for my windlass.

Do you know a good distributor? By good I mean they sell their winches at a loss and offer instant and endless customer support and free shipping and free replacements.

Thanks

Michael

[imagine2frolic]

http://www.maxwellmarine.com/find_srap.php

I have 2 Maxwell's on Imagine.

[imagine2frolic]

OOPS

The original is 10 years old, and working fine. 4 years ago I placed a second windlass on the boat, because I redesigned the system. Both VW800's have worked flawless.

[Cheechako]

Maxwell or Lofrans... the best. Horizontal I would go Lofrans. Vertical either.

[GMac]

Originally Posted by MV

Do you know a good distributor? By good I mean they sell their winches at a loss and offer instant and endless customer support and free shipping and free replacements.

Looking for one of those who does 50ft Cats, if you know one

As for winches? Sadly no I don't apart from one in NZ whose new computer system had them selling most of the stuff at about 5% less than they paid for it. It took nearly 5 weeks before they noticed

Hunt around. I'd say find a place who is doing good looking deals and then wander in with a handful of notes (Pictures of the Queen, as we call notes here). With all the wobbles going on at the moment many companies are scared and could possibly do hell deals just to reduce stocks and overdrafts.

And I'd agree with Cheechako, Lofrans do have some rocking good horizontals. Their Kobra and Caymen are great for 8mm (5/16"). The Dorado is probably just a smudgen lite for cruising on 8mm I'd think. I had to pull a Tigres apart today for one of our punters. It's been working fine for 8 years and today was the 1st time anyone had touched since new.

BUT servicing your winch every year is good. 8 years is not and this guy has just been very lucky. His cones were siezed into the gypsy so it couldn't be freefalled and could have trashed the gearbox if he'd overloaded it. LUBE YOUR CONES at least once a year, more if you use it a lot and/or in fine mud type seabeds. It only takes 10 min and can save a very expensive repair job.

Maxwells horizontals are bloody good as well but physically take up a lot more space. Mind you their newish HRC is working a treat and has a smaller footprint.

If hunting for a Vertical it may pay to hang on a few months. I heard a word today all the units out being sea trialled are working fantastic so Maxwell will probably release the new RC8 about Xmas time, maybe just before. This is intended to replace the 'Freedom' range sooner or later. It's all SS and a sexy beast. It may even have the new 2 stage motor giving it speeds twice as fast down as up along with a huge snatch load. Maxwell (like myself) are not fans of the free-fall winches, the chain often beats the anchor to the seabed and anchors don't work too well when sitting on top of a pile of it's own chain.

But you never heard about the RC8 from me, it's still a secret. So that's just between you and me, OK?

what about Anchorlift ? we need to decide between Anchorlift and Lofrans ...

Neven Grubisic

[orion1]

Sneuman, Florida Rigging has all parts for SL 555, and will repair / rebuild them also.

[Jim Cate]

John,

No one has mentioned one factor that I consider to be important in a powered windlass: Manual backup mode!

Marine electrics being what they are, one must consider what happens when the electric (or hydraulic) power fails. My Maxwell VCW1200/1500 (I've hadboth) have a backup system that is a joke. Basically they have a short (~15 inches) handle to drive a ~4 inch gypsy offering about 4:1 mechanical advantage (in what is always a rather awkward position). This means that to reach their rated pull, you'd have to exert some 300+ pounds force on the bloody handle!

I do believe that some of their later models have a geared drive for the backup... but do give this aspect some thought when making your choice.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Gladstone Qld Oz

[delmag]

[quote=GMac;213973]

Maxwell (like myself) are not fans of the free-fall winches, the chain often beats the anchor to the seabed and anchors don't work too well when sitting on top of a pile of it's own chain.

gmac-
i wonder about this concept of free falling. if you have a windlass that won't free fall and you lose electrical power, for whatever reason, how do you lower the anchor? i mean, if you can ONLY power down and you don't have power, there is no way to anchor. or, am i missing something? i had a 555 sea tiger on my previous boat with a cone clutch and it was fairly easy to control the dump rate of the chain by feathering the clutch. so, it seems to me, that it would be much better to have the option to operate the windlass on "full manual" if it were to become necessary. after all, the use of a windlass sort of assumes the anchoring gear is large enough to inspire mechanical assistance in the first place. because of that, i think it would be prudent to buy a windlass with an effective manual option.
i am going to be buying a windlass soon and i was looking at the two different lines of verticals that maxwell offers but this issue was a little unclear to me. one seems to be capable of free fall but the other is a little vague. i'd be interested to hear your viewpoints on this subject.