Albin 25 Deluxe windlass

[Salto1975]

Hi
Anyone want to comment a good windless for an A25 and how did you modify the locker. We think a lewmar horizontal has a good profile but open for suggestions
Please and thanks

Saltö

[nebulatech]

I've had my eye on this one, because there's not a lot of room for the motor below deck:
https://www.hodgesmarine.com/lew6656811 ... html?qty=1

It will be at least 6 months before I get to actually installing a Windlass though...

[Burton]

I had my eye on that same Lewmar, but came across two very bad reviews by owners who say they had a very short life. That is, the windlass, not the owners, had the short life.... In one, the chain part broke in short order, the other is the one below the link that nebulatech shared, and they had a failure to the Flemming (not sure what that is) and corrosion. I'm seeking the same answer as the OP.

At age 65, and with neck issues, pulling in an anchor with nothing but the old "Armstrong winch" is nothing I look forward to... though much of the effort can be done by motoring. (We are just getting our A25 going). Desertalbin uses a regular sheeting winch but of course mentioned that system only works for the rope, not chain. The manual windlasses for chain and rope are hopelessly slow in my opinion--like using a come-along on the boat...click, click, click by lever. Our boat had a rotting bowsprit and ancient sheeting winch-- bolt holes leaking into bunk area, with tape over the holes to stop the leaks! I may build a new bowsprit and put it back on. I read that Per Brohall almost gave us a self-draining anchor rode locker-- that's the mod I want to do when the other issues are taken care of and the windlass question is solved. At present, we are docked at a floating dock and haven't had to anchor yet.

I'd sure love to hear what you figure out.

[stmbtwle]

I've had two Lewmars (profish model) over the years and found them pretty good. The only problem I've had was that the anchor rode follower in top of the windlass sometimes deflects the rode to the side when dropping the anchor so the gypsy cannot grip the rode. This means someone has to go forward and clear it. I THINK that removing the follower would solve the problem but I haven't tried it yet. One of those "round to it" projects.

[DesertAlbin736]

At age 65, and with neck issues, pulling in an anchor with nothing but the old "Armstrong winch" is nothing I look forward to...

Guess I'm lucky, almost 4 years older than 65 & no flexibility issues. Been on six week cruises where we anchored out at least two out of every three nights if not more often. Only trouble I've had was getting sore wrists after a while so now & I use wrist braces on both arms pulling up 22 lb anchor plus 26 feet of chain that probably weighs a pound for every foot or two (never actually weighed the chain). What I do his have the Admiral motor slow ahead while I pull in the slack until we're right over the anchor. Then pull it up until it's tight & if it doesn't break out with reasonable effort then cleat it off & have the Admiral motor slow ahead until it breaks free. Then I sit on the deck & use my back & considerable upper body weight to rock back & forth to pull it in over the bow roller. It's really not that bad even without the sheet winch for the rope.

[Sunsetrider]

I installed a Lewmar winch a few years ago on my 25 and have never looked back. I modified the bow hatch area by eliminating the floor of the upper part in order to increase the drop zone. I no longer fear dropping anchor and all for under a thou. Pics and even a utube demo on request.

[coolchange]

Lewmar on a 27 is a great addition..took a lot of wire (ran forward through bilge) got some cheap remotes on amazon (not the expensive lewmar one)...the only complaint is after a year the spring on the arm that "pushes" the poly rode into the gypsy works fine until the splice comes up and then I need to be at the bow and put a light foot on the arm to make the transition to chain...I have heard others found using a bungee to hold the arm down allows one to not have to leave the helm. BUT..this is a massive improvement to hand pulling and no locker mods needed for 200' rode with another 40' chain.

[Andrew cook]

We put a lewmar sport fish 700 on our 34’ marine trader aft cabin trawler, in Penobscot bay - 240’ brait with 80’ of chain, after 10 years of flawless service the boat sold, now I’m coming back to the 1972 Albin 25.

First order of business a Lewmar sport fish 700 for the Albin 25, I hope to use it to anchor out and haul the boat back on the trailer. Am I nuts? Feedback appreciated.

[DesertAlbin736]

No I don't think you're nuts at all. How or why you'd use a windlass to haul the boat back onto the trailer I don't know, but for anchoring sure. Hand cranked trailer winch is usually sufficient for a boat the size of an Albin 25, especially if the winch has 2 speed gearing. Thetford, VT is an interesting location for trailering, 90 minutes from Burlington, VT & Lake Champlain, & 3 1/2 hours from Newport RI & Long Island Sound. You say "coming back" to an A25. Does that mean you own one now or looking for one? From your prior experience I assume you know the wiring requirements & wire gauge size needed as well as engine alternator amperage required? Also what made you decide to downsize from the Marine Trader 34? I only ask because a couple years ago we were thinking of upsizing to a similar size/type 34 or 36 Taiwan trawler to keep up in NW Washington State for a summer semi-live aboard cruiser to spend cooler months in Puget Sound, San Juans & Gulf Islands & went so far as to look at several boats for sale in the Seattle area. In the end we realized it would be biting off more than we wanted to chew cost wise & taking too much of a chance on all the things that could go wrong with a 70s or 80s vintage Taiwan boat including rusty fuel tanks, soft decks, & leaking windows not to mention wiring nightmares.

This Universal 36 in Blaine, WA was one we drooled over, but $53K was a bit much for our pocketbook.

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[dkirsop]

Here are a couple of thoughts based on the low profile winch that came with my A25. If I was to install a unit from scratch I would seriously consider a good quality deck mounted horizontal windlass. Two reasons for this are: to avoid the intrusion of the motor into an already crowded space and; to achieve a more direct drop of the rode/chain into the locker area. I do appreciate that my anchor is self-launching and can be deployed from the helm, this is a great convenience/safety feature. I also appreciate the remote control that is available for use on the fore deck. My remote is a cable affair kept close at hand and accessed through the fore hatch. For self launching you will have to elevate the winch and anchor roller so the chain clears the rub-rail and the anchor is free to roll forward and drop. There are lots of good brands out there but do not go cheap on the equipment purchase. Sitting on the deck exposes the equipment to lots of wave and spray. You need a quality piece of equipment if you want to get years of service out of it.

[Sunsetrider]

Some of us are, surprisingly, getting a little older. Hauling a weed or mud-laden anchor up from the depths can feel like a heart attack is imminent, and that is under calm conditions. Doing it at night as your boat is being swept toward a lee shore while rocking to the the waves is a nightmare come true. To my way of thinking, that is an easy sell.

[DesertAlbin736]

Some of us are, surprisingly, getting a little older.

What's this "we" stuff white man?

Sitting on the deck exposes the equipment to lots of wave and spray.

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[tribologist]

First order of business a Lewmar sport fish 700 for the Albin 25, I hope to use it to anchor out and haul the boat back on the trailer. Am I nuts? Feedback appreciated.

Lol! I just ordered a 110TT lewmar bowthruster from Amazon but instead a 700 sportfish windlass appeared yesterday. Was for a second considering keeping it since its $400 more than the bowthruster but it is going back for an exchange. I already filed a return. Maybe I should bang up the box a little so you get a good amazon warehouse deal . Actually keep your eyes open for a deal on Amazon. It probably will end up as a Used unit no matter what.

[Sunsetrider]

Re the old man pics: I think that although I am the shortest, clearly I'm the best looking!

[WillieC]

Hold on there. Smartest and best looking already taken.