Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

[lncovert]

I am thinking about adding this anchor winch to my boat.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=91015&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

Getting the anchor out from underneath the floor of the boat is difficult and sometimes not fast enough in emergency situation.

I want to be able to push "up" and "down." I don't want to spend a lot of money, so I can't buy an electric windlass, but this looks like a good alternative.

Any thoughts? Are these things any good?

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Dont have experiance with the ancor winches but you have a beautiful boat!! I have a sea ray closed bow and i have to climb onto the bow to ancor. Ive been thinking about getting one of those but id mount it under the bow and use a couple of pullies to lower and raise. I love the wood in that boat you got. What kind of paint did you use when you painted it?

 

[gazelle]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

retrieval rate of 65 fps


I hope they mean 65 fpm, at 65 fps your anchor will be swinging wildly, it would be a sight to see though.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

65 fps is a little slow imagine if you were in 70 feet water. It would take more than a second to get the ancor up. Thats crazy though it must be fpm. I would like to see that as well with the 65 fps. it would prob shoot out of the water then swing around and put a hole in the hull. lol or if you get the ancor stuck on a cable or something 65 feet on the bottom, would it pull your boat to the bottom in 1 second? LOL

 

[Zero Balance]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

would it pull your boat to the bottom in 1 second? LOL

Only if the boat weighs less than 25 lbs....

 

[lncovert]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Thanks. I used Pettit Easy Epoxy (blue ice) for the bottom and other blue parts (~$30 quart) and I used Rustoleum Marine white paint ($10 quart from home depot) to paint the sides of the hull, top of the hull and interior.

The pettit paint is a lot better, but the rustoleum white paint works good too for the cost.

I was also planning on putting the winch inside the cuddy cabin since it is quite an ugly piece of machinery. But...I haven't exactly figured out how to run the rope up without the rope getting frayed on the wood coming up through the bow. I know they have things called rope pipes, but not sure if that's exactly what I need.

You say you are going to use pulleys? How exactly are you going to run the rope?

Dont have experiance with the ancor winches but you have a beautiful boat!! I have a sea ray closed bow and i have to climb onto the bow to ancor. Ive been thinking about getting one of those but id mount it under the bow and use a couple of pullies to lower and raise. I love the wood in that boat you got. What kind of paint did you use when you painted it?

 

[thrasher]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

How many emergency situations have you run into where you need to drop an anchor quickly? It's nice to have an electric winch on the anchor, but your logic for fitting one seems a bit dubious!! Sounds like an excuse I would try on my wife to try and justify buying one!! I doubt she would believe it...

Sorry I have no experience with that make of winch, but your logic made me smile..

Gary

 

[stevens]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

How about mounting one of these on the deck and run the rope through the deck through these:

Alternatively, you can run the rope through the deck by using this thing to replace an existing cleat;

And then have one of these at the bow to make the anchor self-launching:

(all pictures lifted from www.engbo.no)

 

[gearyg]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

I just added a windlass to my 21 CC. The small ones you linked to will not be sufficient for your boat, they are made for small, light pontoons etc....I was considering the same in the past, but they will definately fail on an 18' fiberglass...but you may get away with it if you are only in a lake or something similar, but I would definately not rely on it if some wind/current or chop picks up.

I had to go with a Lewmar 700 pro series $650, probably for you, a Power Winch 450 will be fine...around $500 and the parts will be approx $300-$400 bucks not including the rope, chain and anchor or any additional materials that may be needed to fabricate additioal support for the windlass. Yes, the support is critical as those things can rip off, or rip the bow off if not supported correctly. And lets not forget that a windlass will require at least a group-27 battery to power it properly.

One plus on your boat, it looks like the wire will be easy to run, it cost me $300 (electricians labor) just to run mine...it was such a pain in the ***! And it also cost me another $300 (just in materials) for additional support which I ended up fabricating myself.

Other than that, I feel your pain, manually hauling up an anchor sucks!...especially as you get older. I will anchor approx 4-5 times in 60-110 ft of water each fishing trip, so imagine the physical pain...and now all I have to do is push the button. Costly yes, but I figure I am saving mucho$$$$ on the doctor bills and pain medication along with focusing my saved energy on better things....my new best friend, Mr Windlass!

If you need any additional advice, feel free to give me a buzz, or PM me that would probably be the best...good luck, I also sent you a PM

 

[lncovert]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Yea, those rope bushings are perfect. It looks like you can't buy them on that website though. Do you know anywhere else to get them? I can't seem to find anymore like these.

How about mounting one of these on the deck and run the rope through the deck through these:

Alternatively, you can run the rope through the deck by using this thing to replace an existing cleat;

And then have one of these at the bow to make the anchor self-launching:

(all pictures lifted from www.engbo.no)

 

[Expidia]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

That winch you looked at also goes for about $119 on Overtons.

I too thought about buying that one until I did some searching around on Google a few months ago and came up with several reviews from people who bought that model and were unhappy with it's performance.

I thought for only $120 it couldn't work that great anyway.

Cabela's has several other brands that are beefier and start at $169 which if you write the brand down you could search around and find the same one cheaper.

I passed on that $120 model because I'm sure the motor will burn out sooner than I'd expect.

My bows open, so I have not bought one yet and have only had the need to drop anchor a few times over the summer. But if I'd had a bow that I had to climb over each time I'd probably go for a decent unit or at least use those eyes the other poster linked to and pull it up manually.

My fear though on using those loops is that they can allow the anchor to swing around and smack into the hull once you pull it all the way up, it's just hanging there.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

I've heard others say they were tired of climbing over the bow to drop anchor. Why can you drop anchor at the rear of the boat? Not trying to hijack the thread, but just curious.

 

[evilratgirl]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

We have an 18.5 Crestliner Phantom. In the earlier days the wife handled the anchor duties. A couple of years ago we got the Minnkota Deckhand40. It's by far the favorite upgrade we've made according to the wife. I've got it mounted on the quick release like the trolling motor. I've aslo got the remote control neatly next to the counsel. We love it.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

I've heard others say they were tired of climbing over the bow to drop anchor. Why can you drop anchor at the rear of the boat? Not trying to hijack the thread, but just curious.

Bad idea to EVER anchor a boat from the transom with only one anchor. You want the bow pointed into the waves. If the waves break over your transom you can swamp the boat. When you see an anchor off the transom they will have another other one off the bow to keep the bow into the waves.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Oh, I hadn't thought about waves. Makes sense. So, on the river, where waves aren't big enough to come over the transom, it wouldn't matter?

 

[Expidia]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Oh, I hadn't thought about waves. Makes sense. So, on the river, where waves aren't big enough to come over the transom, it wouldn't matter?

Wouldn't matter unless some jerk flys by behind you and kicks up a big wake

No kidding, I've had that happen several times when fishing off of a small aluminum boat and these huge boats come by a few feet off your transom while the owner gave the wheel over to some young kid or his girlfriend. The boat owner is holding his beer and talking with friends not paying any attention as to where or how close thier boat is coming at you and they don't even look back. I've been at anchor while fishing on some of those occasions and anchored off the transom. After a few close calls, I will never anchor off the transom again!

 

[stevens]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

Incovert - I have no idea what these deck fittings are called in English, but there must be some chandler selling such over there too. The Engbo company is a Norwegian windlass manufacturer and they state they have a US representative: http://www.scandvik.com

As for anchoring off the aft of the boat, that's common practice over here. Scandinavians usually approach land bow first, drop the anchor off the stern, and tie a line from the bow to shore. Our anchor winches are hence almost always located aft. Here's a typical example of how it's installed: (link) Also, our bowrails are usually open to facilitate jumping to shore from the bow.

Swamping from waves over the transom is very rarely a problem, maybe because our boats seem to have higher freeboard than most US boats. When absolutely necessary, like when anchoring at sway in foul weather, we would then drop the anchor from aft but walk forward with the chain/rope and fasten it to the bow to keep the bow into the wind. Larger boats would usually have two winches, one mounted in the bow and one aft.

As for the original question about the "Fisherman Anchor Winch"; it seems to me a bit frail & dinky, and I'd be hesitant to install something on the boat I didn't think would last. Perhaps it would be better, as some have suggested above, to install a proper winch right from the beginning. That would also solve the problem of through-deck fittings.

 

[lncovert]

Re: Thinking about adding Achor Winch - your thoughts?

My next boat will have a windlass, but for this boat, I don't want to spend that much on an anchor system. $100 isn't too bad, so I may try out the cheaper anchor winch or I may just keep pulling the anchor from underneath the floor and climbing onto the bow of the boat everytime we want to move to a different spot.

Currently, I have 2 anchors...about a 15 lb. fluke anchor and at least a 25 lb. navy achor. The heavier navy anchor doesn't work well at all. We always drift pretty fast. The lighter fluke anchor, however, holds us in place everytime.

That cheaper fishing anchor winch says it can hold up to a 25 lb. anchor. But...it needs to be a mushroom type or a river anchor. I doubt the mushroom anchor will hold, but the river anchor looks like it's got a little grip to it.

Anyone used a river anchor before? How do they compare to a fluke anchor?
This page shows the different types of anchors:
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO