Lewmar 700 or 1000 Winch on GW208?

Gamechanger

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Hi Guys,
Has anyone installed either of these winches and what has been the experience?
Dan
 

seasick

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Note that the Pro100 has a free fall option which can be handy. It is a bit more powerful BUT it draws a lot more power. Breaker size for the 1000 is 70 amps vs 50 for the 700. The 700 is a vertical motor so that the motor is below deck. The 1000 has the motor above deck and therefore is a lot bigger on the topside.
The advantage of the 1000 is that you can have a bit mode rode in the locker since the motor is not taking up space in the locker. Installing either is not simple especially if you don't have a pulpit. You can install a ranchor roller instead of a pulpit but in both cases the locker hatch has to be modified and reinforced. You will have to run power cables for either model although some 208s were pre-wired to the cabin for 40 amp sizing I think.
Regardless of what you pick, do yourself a favor and buy the correct matched rode and chain. That can make all the difference in the world on operational performance.

I once saw a fellow who installed an anchor roller arm and a few pulleys on his 208 so that the anchor line ran along the starboard side walkway. he was able to manually deploy the anchor from the deck without having to go forward.. It looked odd and a bit cluttered but seemed to work quite well.
 

ocnslr

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I recently removed a tired Horizon 500 and replaced it with a 700FF. We have a 22# Delta anchor, 30-ft of chain and 600-ft of rode, and this windlass is just fine.

Also installed the same unit on a friend's 25-ft Parker.

No way do you need a Lewmar 1000 on a 208.

Brian
 

sopogrady

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I agree with ocnslr. This 700 pro series has more than enough power. i just replaced a tired Simpson Lawrence Horizon 600 with the 700 Proseries and it was plug in play and works beautifully on my 35 lbs delta anchor. If you want the free fall option you need to buy the "ProFish" model, or you can upgrade later with the ProFish conversion kit.
 

seasick

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ocnslr said:
I recently removed a tired Horizon 500 and replaced it with a 700FF. We have a 22# Delta anchor, 30-ft of chain and 600-ft of rode, and this windlass is just fine.

Also installed the same unit on a friend's 25-ft Parker.

No way do you need a Lewmar 1000 on a 208.

Brian
I agree and also think that there is little chance of fitting that much line in the 208's locker
 

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Thanks for the input guys, leaning toward a profish 700, need & want the free fall!
 

Biscayne208

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I have a pro series 700 and it is way more than enough for my 208. I hav only seen 1000's on 33' and up.
 

sopogrady

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Just for background, I installed the 700 on my 330 Express, and it does just fine. I am going to install the Profish conversion kit this weekend and will update you on how it works.
I know the 1000 comes with the 70amp breaker, but I am not sure if the boat was originally rigged with wiring capable of handling that amperage?
 

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bisc, thanks man, look forward to hearing how it goes for you. Any chance of you posting up some pics of your set up above deck and internal locker, how much rope are you holding?
Sopa, 70amps sounds like a rewire would be needed, not too thrilled about that thought so the 700 seems much more sensible.
Thanks again guys!
 

seasick

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sopogrady said:
Just for background, I installed the 700 on my 330 Express, and it does just fine. I am going to install the Profish conversion kit this weekend and will update you on how it works.
I know the 1000 comes with the 70amp breaker, but I am not sure if the boat was originally rigged with wiring capable of handling that amperage?

The main accessory breaker (near the battery switch)on the 208 was 40 amps. So if you wire a windlass from the distubution block (fuse panel) your current capacity will be limited. For the bigger demand winlasses, you will probably need to run new cables all the way back to the battery switch location.
 

ocnslr

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seasick said:
The main accessory breaker (near the battery switch)on the 208 was 40 amps. So if you wire a windlass from the distubution block (fuse panel) your current capacity will be limited. For the bigger demand winlasses, you will probably need to run new cables all the way back to the battery switch location.

I think that is a given. Run new, dedicated wiring from aft to the helm. If GW prewired the boat for a windlass then you can use the wiring that they installed from the helm to the bow.

I love our GW, but not running separate windlass supply and relying on a 40-amp accessory line to power a windlass with a 50-amp breaker on it is not good.

If you do run a separate windlass supply from aft, then you must provide a breaker aft within two feet of the supply (i.e. batteries). You can either buy a separate breaker or use the one that comes with the windlass.

On the installations that I do, I use a 100-amp surface mounted breaker aft for circuit protection, then mount the supplied breaker in the vicinity of the helm.

Brian
 

seasick

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ocnslr said:
seasick said:
The main accessory breaker (near the battery switch)on the 208 was 40 amps. So if you wire a windlass from the distubution block (fuse panel) your current capacity will be limited. For the bigger demand winlasses, you will probably need to run new cables all the way back to the battery switch location.

I think that is a given. Run new, dedicated wiring from aft to the helm. If GW prewired the boat for a windlass then you can use the wiring that they installed from the helm to the bow.

I love our GW, but not running separate windlass supply and relying on a 40-amp accessory line to power a windlass with a 50-amp breaker on it is not good.

If you do run a separate windlass supply from aft, then you must provide a breaker aft within two feet of the supply (i.e. batteries). You can either buy a separate breaker or use the one that comes with the windlass.
On the installations that I do, I use a 100-amp surface mounted breaker aft for circuit protection, then mount the supplied breaker in the vicinity of the helm.

Brian
All good advice.
Also note that when sizing cables, you can design for a 10% voltage drop. That probably will reduce the cable gauge a size or two.
Even if you had the GW prewire, as noted, you would be pushing the limits of recommended current capacity with that windlass. The windlass will probably work OK in most cases, but we will probably be reading new posts titlted " Why does my chartplotter restart when I use my windlass?":)