Windlass or Winch

[jibes138]

I was in a trucker toy store yesterday and was waiting for some work on my truck when I noticed a 12 volt electric winch. This winch was rated for 9600 pounds of pulling force. It looked really robust with large cables that were well shielded. So why not use one of these as a windlass. The cost was 399.00 compared to the 1500 or more you pay for a marine version of the same thing? Since this is designed to live in a rotten environment of road salt, sand blasted, tar and other contaminants I'd think it would work well even if it had to be replaced 5 times it would be cheaper than a single marine windlass. 9600 pounds would pull up even the most stubborn anchor so plenty of power.

 

[Charlie13958]

I think you would be very limited re storage capacity using chain or nylon rode. SS cable, never seen it used, maybe?

 

[Ross]

If you could change the drum to a capstan and gypsy and tail the rode by hand it would work well. However if you wantd to use the drum 300 feet of rope is a big spool full and the pull would diminish as the diameter increased.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dave, did you get a model #, any links? Would love to see what you you were looking at. Some of my best marine purchases have been made at ACE Hardware!

 

[larryw]

Do you really want a big ol' fugly four-by winch mounted on your foredeck? Sometimes you just have to pay the cost, no one said owning a boat would be cheap fun.

 

[jibes138]

Hermitt....mission control calling

There is a sailboat, or power boat or something in the Beaufort core creek area that has a plywood house built on top of it, plastered with all kinds of grafiti, kind of a tourist attraction. People do all kinds of things with their boats, especially older ones. I'm not saying I would mount a truck winch on my boat just suggesting that a cheap alternative might be available. This was a drum with a cable but it could easily be converted and maybe a pretty pink plastic cover with flowers on it could be made so the admirals would think it was cute and recommend the purchase? After modifications cost might jump to 415.00 instead of 399. We have our very own inventor on this site who is always looking for ideas so he can get a venture capitalist to fund him and make a fortune. Hermitt...where are you...we want to send you on a mission.

 

[jibes138]

Stu,
This isn't what I saw but very similar. 90 feet of cable would suit a lot of scope requirements, probably good for 7 to 12 feet of water when considering tides and freeboard. Would need to add some kind of shock absorber for waves and other surges. The more I look at it the prettier it looks.
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-...8&t_s=300&t_pt=100702&t_pl=6426&t_pn=S/B97281

 

[jibes138]

Oh, by the way these units have remote controls so you can sit in the cockpit with a virgin martini while your remote controlled unit pulls up your anchor and stores it for you.

 

[Bob V]

Oh, by the way these units have remote controls so you can sit in the cockpit with a virgin martini while your remote controlled unit pulls up your anchor and stores it for you.

Did you mean a virgin and a martini?

 

[Ross]

What good is a virgin?

 

[BobM]

5.5 hp and rated for 9600 lbs?

Now THAT will dim the cabin lights. A windlass can be had for $600-1000.

What are you using for an anchor?

 

[Snotter]

Jibes, just my humble opinion, but, I personaly think you would be better off buying a used windless off of ebay.

 

[jibes138]

I don't want you guys to be drunken boaters, once the anchor is up you are in big trouble if intoxicated, thus the virgin martini reference. Of course since a martini is straight booze it kind of implies an empty glass. Sort of like my head for concocting such a crazy scheme, let's see what Hermitt the inventor can dream up for converting a 299.00 truck winch to a windlass.

 

[zeehag]

but, to be technically correct, is a virgin martini a glass of water or a glass of air????

 

[leftwing24]

Now THAT will dim the cabin lights.

You ain't lying. By my calculation (using 1 hp = 746 watts), a half-load on the winch will draw over 150 amps.

 

[jibes138]

Look, there are over 6 billion people in the world. Most of them are critics. I can get a critic anywhere. We need some positive vibes here. So lets figure out how to make this new porduct work and then Hermitt can bring it to market. Phil can sell them right here. What I am looking for here is someone that wants to whip out a welding torch, a few hammers and screwdrivers and start modifying this unit to marinize it and make a great windlass for 450.00. Maybe rivet on a couple silver dolphins to jazz it up and make it look good. Think how this winch could pull you off of a sand bar after a grounding! I'm sure there are smaller units that would do the trick even cheaper. How about a come along? That would work but would take forever.

A virgin martini is neither an empty glass nor a glass of water. It is a glass with a plastic spear with two olives on it.

Now back to the winch. How can a truck power the winch if it draws 150 amps? This is a 12 volt powered winch. I used to have a test rig that had a 600 HP electric motor, now that drew some amps. With that kind of power you will probably only need to use it for a few seconds. Better have some big _ss cables run up to the foredeck.

 

[druid]

If you used SS cable for rode, you'd still need at least 30ft of chain at the anchor end to give you some weight. But you could strip off the cable and use the drum as a windlass - should work good on rope rode, maybe somewhat on cable.



90 ft? Eek - nowhere NEAR enough for out here! You need 200ft min.

druid

 

[jibes138]

these winches are used to haul yourself out of the swamps in your 4 wheel drive vehicle when you get stuck. I'll bet you could winch yourself right off a sand bar with them.
Druid, thanks for the positive waves bro. Still looking for Hermitt the inventor to chime in with some ideas. Maybe he is running around protecting his intellectual property as he converts these to marine use. Keep in mind if it is selling retail for 399.00 then the dealer bought it for 200.00. I think we could get a business going with 200.00 winches modified a bit and sell them for 400 bucks. Remote controlled windlass. Just sit back and watch the anchor come up and settle right on the anchor roller.

 

[Sumner]

these winches are used to haul yourself out of the swamps in your 4 wheel drive vehicle when you get stuck.......

Not to throw more negative waves at you and I have a lot of "non-marine" stuff on our boat, but have you ever used one of those winches? I have one on the front..............

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/newhouse/newhouse9.html

............of our Jeep. They are painfully slow. The have to be to be geared down to work with the heavy loads that they can handle and not draw tremendous amounts of electricity. Now they do draw a lot of current and you will have a battery size cable going to it the same size as from the battery to the starter.

I would not want to sit there and pull in 150 feet of rode with mine. I have no idea how fast the marine one's are as I have to lift our anchor by hand, but sure hope they are faster.

c ya,

Sum

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[Ron20324]

Sumner, West shows that windlasses run from 40 feet to 88 feet per minute.