LewmarPro Sport 550 12V, 1/4" Gypsy

OK this is my story I bought the product install it on my 2400cc (27foter) Angler It was looking beautiful I took out the boat to try it and on the first time using it the windlass broke The product is designed to fail or it was designed by somebody that did not put too much effort in to think about the stress of each one of the parts of this windlassI anchor my boat on the bay and about 15 feet of water with Less than 1NT of current I was using a half inch rope three strand 600FT with a 1/4”chain 15Ft and a 14LB lewmar anchor I brought my anchor and said it it worked like a charm I waited for my bow to settle against the current, ones it was set and the anchor was proper stuck on the moody bottom I kicked my engine into gear and started retrieving the line. All of a sudden the windlass stop working I started to check everything and the breaker had popped. I reset the breaker hit the up button again it made a sound and the breaker popped again. I put my engines on neutral and started troubleshooting the problem. I noticed that the gypsy had a tangle of line. upon closer inspection I saw that the rope stripper A part that is designed to splice the rope or separate the rope from the gypsy going down into the anchor locker had failed. A part made of plastic that wasn’t strong enough to resist the tension on the line to separate it from the Gypsy and force it into the anchor locker hole I cannot believe that the designers of this windless could have not think about the stress of the rope against this part it is unbelievable that on the first try of this product it fails so miserably it takes into consideration what are the designers and quality control team doing at Lewmar On my previous board I had a lewmar 900 The best piece of marine equipment I had owned but this new series take my advice don’t waste your money on it if it fail only on this simple part imagine what it will do on three or four times of heavy use anchoring a boat with that said the retailer company is awesome I explain the problem and they refund me the money fast as lightning But this product is not worth the money

Installed this as a replacement for an identical model that had failed due to saltwater immersion. Talk about quick. Had this installed and operational in 30 minutes. It even came with a new up/down switch and a control relay which I didn't need but now have as spares. Very pleased with the sturdiness, construction, and smooth operation. Kudos to Lewmar.

Good product but their customer relations is terrible. The Fleming broke immediately upon pulling int the anchor rope because the Gypsy was put on backwards from the factory. I called to get a new Fleming but they were no help at all. I even offered to pay for it but they said no that I would have to order it from a dealer.

I wouldn't say it was hard to install, time consuming to do it right the first time. This is my first windless, came highly recommended and the price was right.

The company charges a 20% restocking fee and you pay for return shipping. Make sure it will work for your application. It would not work for my boat without major modifications which I was unaware of until I had the unit in my hand.