Dan
You’re asking for religious opinions here. It depends on how much money you have, how much you depend on your windlass, how you anchor, and how much compromise you are willing to make. I put on a Lofrans Tigress 25 years ago and have been very pleased with the installation. I’ve had to replace the Up/Down solenoid switches and I’ve had to clean the motor brushes a few times. It works for me. If I had lots of money and time, I’d go for a more powerful vertical windlass and I’d totally redo the anchor locker. I use 200 feet of 3/8 HT chain and sleep like a baby when anchored. If the anchor starts dragging, you can hear it in the boat. If set properly, I’ve never had an anchor drag.

Rich

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I have the Maxwell 1200 and am happy, but I’d rather have a manual mindless.

Bob

On Sep 15, 2010 10:57 AM, <> wrote:

Dan
You’re asking for religious opinions here. It depends on how much money

you have, how much you depend on your windlass, how you anchor, and how much
compromise you are willing to make. I put on a Lofrans Tigress 25 years ago
and have been very pleased with the installation. I’ve had to replace the
Up/Down solenoid switches and I’ve had to clean the motor brushes a few
times. It works for me. If I had lots of money and time, I’d go for a more
powerful vertical windlass and I’d totally redo the anchor locker. I use 200
feet of 3/8 HT chain and sleep like a baby when anchored. If the anchor
starts dragging, you can hear it in the boat. If set properly, I’ve never
had an anchor drag.

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Lewmar 1500

Powerful, easy to install, 9 years maintenance free operation. No longer
made.

The new V# or V$ should be suitable in lieu of the 1500. You want a windlass
that can pull the boat to the anchor.

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I meant V3 or 4

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Dan,

I’m very happy with the vertical Lofrans 1500 I installed, and I anchor
constantly in various situations. However, were I to do it again I’d
probably get the horizontal windlass instead, which can handle 2 bow anchors
more easily if you put rope/chain gypsies on both sides of the windlass. Of
course, this only applies if you have converted the chain locker to a
full-size, divided locker with two thru-deck hawse pipes.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.silverheels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill
The original solenoid switches provided by Lofrans were a combination foot-switch and solenoid. Both failed after a few years and were replaced with separate Maxwell foot switches and solenoids (cheap RV battery solenoid). I’ve had no problems since.

The motor brushes can stick. They are held in a spring retainer which can corrode. When this first starts happening, the windlass will begin losing power. You may not even notice it. When it gets bad, the motor will stick and you’ll have to whack it to get it started. The repair is simple, taking less than 30 minutes. Remove the motor cover and the access covers to the brushes. Remove each brush and clean the retainer with sandpaper. Reinstall the brushes and you’re back in business. Don’t use a lubricant on the brushes or armature. I’ve found this necessary every five years or so. Replacement brushes can probably be found at any good starter rebuild shop if you break one. Be careful after using the windlass the first time after servicing. The first time I did this I had become accustomed to the reduced power and was surprised at how fast the anchor now came up. It ran up and over the roller so fast that it jumped off the side of the roller and fell overboard again, scratching the side of the hull and running out a bunch of chain which gouged the toe-rail. When the thing is working properly, I need to be careful retrieving the last foot or so to avoid the problem. When the brushes start to stick, it retrieves more slowly so its not an issue.

Touch-up the paint on the windlass every now and then.

Rich

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RICH~~ Thanks for that. All my solenoid(s), switches, etc., were replaced
two years ago as part of the project of making the windless bi-directional
and adding a momentary switch to the DC panel and a directional switch at
the helm. I had been wondering therefore why the unit now occasionally
“sticks” or pauses, following such relatively recent work. You’ve given me the
explanation, thanks!

~~(__~~ (_~~~fair winds~~ (_~~
Capt. William Tice, USCG Master, 100 Ton

In a message dated 9/15/2010 4:02:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Bill
The original solenoid switches provided by Lofrans were a combination
foot-switch and solenoid. Both failed after a few years and were replaced with
separate Maxwell foot switches and solenoids (cheap RV battery solenoid).
I’ve had no problems since.

The motor brushes can stick. They are held in a spring retainer which can
corrode. When this first starts happening, the windlass will begin losing
power. You may not even notice it. When it gets bad, the motor will stick
and you’ll have to whack it to get it started. The repair is simple, taking
less than 30 minutes. Remove the motor cover and the access covers to the
brushes. Remove each brush and clean the retainer with sandpaper. Reinstall
the brushes and you’re back in business. Don’t use a lubricant on the
brushes or armature. I’ve found this necessary every five years or so.
Replacement brushes can probably be found at any good starter rebuild shop if you
break one. Be careful after using the windlass the first time after servicing.
The first time I did this I had become accustomed to the reduced power and
was surprised at how fast the anchor now came up. It ran up and over the
roller so fast that it jumped off the side of the roller and fell overboard
again, scratchin
g the side of the hull and running out a bunch of chain which gouged the
toe-rail. When the thing is working properly, I need to be careful
retrieving the last foot or so to avoid the problem. When the brushes start to
stick, it retrieves more slowly so its not an issue.

Touch-up the paint on the windlass every now and then.

Rich

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