Questions about a windlass

F

fishingjim48

New member
Just bought a 1984 V20 step, it is a very clean boat, and I want to install a windlass. I looked up some members installs and they look great. Being a 20ft boat what size and brand of winch should I get. I have always had a boat, 12 to17ft so no experience with the winch. The cuddy bow seems very tight for the amount of rope and chain needed, looks like some mods will have to be done. I usually work on my boats myself, just don't want to start the project wrong. Any advise will be appreciated........Thanks Jim
 
Hmmm... Jim, you are talking about an anchor windless correct? For my money I like the Powerwinch brand, I use their trailer winches and anchor winchs and really haven't had any trouble with either of them over the years.

What depth water are you thinking of anchoring in? Unless it's very very deep there should be more than enough space in your cuddy for the rode and chain.
 
I would not need to anchor in deep water over 120ft. Will the Powerwinch brand have free fall feature? I will look up the winch and see if it will do what I need Thanks for your help Destroyer
 
I always used an anchor ball. No electrical connections to worry about failing, and ALOT less money. The ball does take up a good bit of space, but I never found it to be a big deal.
 
Definitely an anchor ball for our boats. To solve the space problem, I made an attachment that clamps on my bow rail with a hole in it and clip the ball onto it whil under way, then store it in the cuddly when the boat's not in use.
 
Talking about a round buoy attached to 3 or 4ft of rope with a ss ring on other end of rope. I don't want to get on the bow to retrieve the anchor
 
scook said:
Definitely an anchor ball for our boats. To solve the space problem, I made an attachment that clamps on my bow rail with a hole in it and clip the ball onto it whil under way, then store it in the cuddly when the boat's not in use.
Click to expand...
Thanks Scook, it is a lot cheaper.Thanks Jim
 
I've always found the Armstrong windlass a good option.

Helps to have a Windline through pulpit anchor roller and at least 5/8" rode.
 
I've got a Maxwell Freedom 500 for sale if you are interested($1000) with two sets of line, spare motor, gear box and misc parts. I'll go ahead and tell you now, they use their own line(like most windlass manufacture), and if you want extra, you have to buy it from them. Set up came off of a 455 Cruiser motor yacht. I had to repo it as the customer never paid for it. My cost at the time was just over $2000
 
yes , hard to justify the $ for a windlass on a V20.
I have an anchor ball and it works good but I usually just make the CREW haul it in.
If you have a good hinged roller you can stand next to the helm and hand over hand laying out on the deck, easy.

Plenty of room in Cuddy anchor locker for 3/8 line. I have 400ft in there with plenty of room for more but I keep extra 250ft in a 4gl bucket
 
Take a hole saw and drill some holes in the bottom of the bucket and some around the sides at the bottom for good drainage and air circulation to dry the line.
 
scook said:
Take a hole saw and drill some holes in the bottom of the bucket and some around the sides at the bottom for good drainage and air circulation to dry the line.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, been working on boat for the last week, think I will enjoy the V20 when I get her ready..:nice:
 
I added a lewmar v700 to my boat a few years back. I love it! only thing I would change would be to mount it further to the stern. I could use more free fall length
 
windlass

I added a old powerwinch windlass to my V20 that I found on craigslist for $100 but have not had the chance to try it yet. It gets a little in the way of the top sliding door and I had to angle it a bit to use with an existing anchor roller I had. It also came with a foot switch I installed. I have used an anchor ball in the past but hope this will be much simpler and easier.

20220207_122334_HDR.jpg
 
fishingjim48 said:
Talking about a round buoy attached to 3 or 4ft of rope with a ss ring on other end of rope. I don't want to get on the bow to retrieve the anchor
Click to expand...

The previous guy who owned my boat had the anchor rope rigged such that he could drop it from the cockpit and retrieve from the side of the boat too. It was clever, but I was new and didn***8217;t note how he did it. He kept the anchor behind the drivers seat in a tub. He was kind of one of those folks who fish commercial on the side near Martha***8217;s Vineyard. The story was that hey once brought back 800-1000 lbs fish back with 4 fishermen on board.


Obviously anchor ball is a good option. I personally couldn***8217;t justify the cost of the windlass given the cost of the boat and that I am usually anchored in about 30-50 ft at most and I am ok with pulling it up, that***8217;s about the limit for me manually. If I ever were in a situation where I would need to anchor consistently in deeper waters say more than 100 ft I would think of the windlass. But that***8217;s pretty far offshore here and I don***8217;t think I would ever take the v20 out there in the first place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top