Muir winches

[SHOOTER1]

Hi All,
Looking at a Free Fall anchor winch. Done a bit of research and the Stress Free
seems to be the go. Came across Muir the other day at a local outlet. They look
the goods has anyone had any experience with this brand?

[Dan5]

Muir have been around for years and are one of the better ones,we had a Muir Cheetah on a 42'' cat an it never missed a beat.......capstan one side gypsy the other.

Dan

[ozscott]

The current best free fall horizontal is the Maxwell HRC6 or 8.search and see my thread on fitting one. Patented new design for free fall that leaves the others behind in my view. Ring winch solutions at Camp Hill. They do both brands. They stoped selling Lewmar free fall - he will explain why.

Cheers

Ps I got the HRC6 for under a grand...

[Captain Seaweed]

I had a Muir on my Noble, only complaint was it came up quick and there was no way of slowing it down to settle into cradle. i was running a No3 sarca. Great apart from that

[finga]

I have a Muir capstan winch sitting on the bench.
I can't tell you what it's like. I've never used it. Probably never used it because it's sitting on the bench.
But it does look the goods

PS: I tell a lie. It does work good for the purpose I use it for. I use it as a paper weight.

[Matty76]

I have the Muir DFF08 and running a Sarca #2 and is an awesome unit to use, powerful, userfriendly and never missed a beat.

[Seppo BNE]

Gday- How have the Muir Freefall DFF08 or 10 drum winches been holding up over the years? - wondering if there's much to do preventative maintenance wise.

About to install a Muir DFF08 into a Seafarer Victory in the coming weeks.
Any recommendations on mounting the drum winch to the anchor well rear wall? - Does it need reinforcing?
I am thinking of putting a thick (5-6mm) aluminium plate on the inside to bolt it to... Wondering if it's overkill, or a good idea.

Also have a 15lb plough anchor at the moment, would it be OK for a while to use as is?, or better to go to a nicer one like Sarca or similar.

[Chimo]

Probably if I were doing it, which I wouldn't as a foam float ball lifts anchor and chain which is nice when solo fishing in 120ft; the aluminium plate would be the better way to go. Re what anchor to buy and use, its a B O A T so just keep spending.

[ovakil]

I have one also, only thing I didn't like , the plastic handle ( loosen & tighten winch) doesn't float.

[Seppo BNE]

Heheh- have to remember that ! thinking of a long bit of rope tied to the handle and boat to keep it from disappearing into the sea-
How well does the freefall work on it? - does it need much to get the anchor dropping at the start? Is there much drag on the way down from the clutch etc?

Not kidding about the B O A T thing ... A reasonable amount of anchoring is done in semi-shallow, high current areas (jumpin-pin) and a ball may be a pain in small areas.
I had an uncomfortable solo un-anchoring experience at night with a bit of current, the quickest I had ever pulled up an anchor !

[ovakil]

Free fall I found good.
Freefall is like just dropping the anchor, with dropping with winch I do in shallow water less 10m.
I put a key ring float on my handle.
I also got deck switch as my anchor well isn't deep enough. Which I did know before I fitted it.
So as I'm lifting anchor up I can move rope so doesn't jam up.
One day I'll modify anchor well,lol

[Seppo BNE]

Thanks Ovakil for the info-- waiting for the box to arrive .. the anticipation is killing me !!---
That reminds me- better get some plate ready!