Windlass Guides & Insights

At this size you have the locker depth to run a gypsy, so the real question is vertical or horizontal. Ten models compared on working load rather than the derived max-pull figure, with prices and the fall depth each one needs.

Boats under 30 ft rarely have the locker depth a gypsy windlass needs, which is why the answer is usually a drum winch. Three picks with verified working loads and prices, and the one measurement that decides between them.

Both formats do the same job. The chain wrap differs, the service access differs, but what actually rules one out is the fall depth in your anchor locker. How to measure it, and what to do when neither fits.